Iran has admitted to shooting down a passenger plane after its attack on military bases in Iraq on Wednesday.
The Islamic Republic “unintentionally” shot the airliner down with a surface-to-air missile, killing all 176 passengers, which Iran blamed on “human error.” The statement, attributed to the military, came over Iranian state television on Saturday morning.
Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted out condolences after the news broke.
“A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations,” Zarif tweeted.
A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces:
Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster
Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations.
?— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 11, 2020
Iran was firing on Iraqi bases that house American troops in retaliation for a U.S. drone strike on Jan. 2 that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. President Trump ordered the strike on Soleimani after the general was said to have orchestrated a violent protest outside of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
