Ukraine, Afghanistan, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have called on Iran to urgently provide a full and comprehensive explanation on downing the Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 near Tehran a year ago.
The five countries in a joint statement on Friday, marking the first anniversary of the “tragic downing” the Ukrainian jet, said that the plane was downed “by two Iranian military surface-to-air missiles near Tehran,” the statement said.
“We urgently call on Iran to provide a complete and thorough explanation of the events and decisions that led to this appalling plane crash, including concrete measures to ensure that it will never happen again,” the statement read.
“Our countries will hold Iran to account to deliver justice and make sure Iran makes full reparations to the families of the victims and affected countries,” the statement noted.
“Today we honor the memory of those who perished and offer our sincere condolences to all who mourn the victims of the PS752 tragedy. We share the grief of the families, relatives, and friends who lost loved ones.”
On January 8, an Iranian air defense unit mistakenly shot down Flight 752 of the Ukrainian International Airlines shortly after take-off from Tehran en route to Kyiv.
179 passengers and nine crew members were killed in the downing. The victims included 82 Iranians, 63 Iranian-Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, 10 Afghans, three Germans, and three British nationals.
The operator had mistaken the Boeing 737-800 with a cruise missile at a time when the air defense systems were at the highest level of alert following the United States’ earlier killing of prominent Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.
This comes as late December, the Legal Department of the Office of Iran’s President’s Office announced that the country will pay $150,000 to each of the bereaved families of the victims of the Ukrainian plane. (ATN)