Protests erupted across Iran after Iranian officials admitted they had accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane that had taken off from Tehran hours after Iran launched missiles at US bases in Iraq.
President Hassan Rouhani issued a Jan. 11 statement saying the Jan. 8 Ukraine International Airlines crash, which killed 176 people, was due to “human error,” adding that it was “unforgivable.” He ordered all of the relevant agencies to compensate the families of the victims and said investigations would continue, adding, “This painful event is not an issue that we can painfully put to the side.”
