TEHRAN -- The Iranian military chief pledged Sunday that the armed forces will continue to “act responsibly” in addressing the rights of the families of those killed in the accidental downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane amid military tensions with the U.S. in early 2020.
Chief of General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Muhammad Baqeri issued a statement to mark the third anniversary of the tragic incident on January 8, 2020, when the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, en route to Kiev and transporting mostly Iranians, crashed minutes after takeoff near Tehran, killing all the 176 on board.
The plane was shot down by Iran’s air defenses, which were on high alert amid military tensions with the U.S. following Washington’s assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq days earlier.
The Iranian armed forces say the passenger plane was mistaken for a military target.
Bagheri said the incident “deeply saddened” the Iranian nation assuring that the armed forces will continue to “act responsibly” in addressing the rights of the families of those killed as they have done so since the incident happened.
The military chief said the legal case surrounding the tragedy remains open in the Iranian judicial system, and that the armed forces will continue to cooperate with the dossier as long as the investigations are ongoing.