Iran says ‘several’ arrested in downed Ukrainian airliner incident
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that several people had been arrested in connection with a downed Ukrainian airliner that killed 176 people.
Addressing the nation in a live televised broadcast, Rouhani described the crash as a “very painful and unforgivable error.”
The Iranian military admitted last week it had accidentally shot down the Ukrainian airliner that crashed shortly after taking off from an airport in Tehran, killing all 176 passengers.
Read More: Iran admits shooting down Ukrainian airliner in ‘unintentional human error’
The incident occurred hours after Iran fired ballistic missiles on Iraqi bases that house American troops, in an operation widely publicized by Iranian media as Tehran’s “severe revenge” for the killing of Qasim Soleimani, a general of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force.
Iran has also issued at least 10 visas for an investigation team from Canada to conduct a probe into the downed Ukrainian airliner, which killed 57 Canadians
Three members of the Canadian Standing Rapid Deployment Team (SRDT) arrived in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Sunday.
Read More: Iran issues visas for Canadian team investigating Ukrainian airliner crash
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Global News on Monday that Canadians need “clear answers” on how the tragic incident happened and vowed that his government would “make sure it never happens again.”
Meanwhile, Ottawa has also refuted claims Iran made that only a few Canadians died. Iran does not recognize the concept of dual nationality.
Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told the CBC on Tuesday that Canada would “pursue full justice.”
“I think the world is watching and under the circumstances, I would expect, and I demand, that Iran would obviously respect what Canada wants when it comes to its own citizens.”