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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Qatar Airways will continue to fly to Iran and has not lost any bookings during a recent spike in Middle East tensions, Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker said on Wednesday.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – British ambassador to Iran Robert Macaire has left Iran in accordance with the terms and conditions on Tuesday night.

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“For our people it is very important in this incident that anyone who was at fault or negligent at any level” face justice, said Rouhani in a televised speech, adding that the “tragic event” would be thoroughly investigated.

He described the fatal incident “a painful and unforgivable” mistake and promised that his government would pursue the case “by all means.”

“More than just one person is responsible for the Ukrainian plane crash,” said the president, adding that those found culpable “should be punished.”

“There are others, too, and I want this issue to be expressed honestly,” he said, without elaborating.

Rouhani also called for a special court to probe the tragic incident.

“The Judiciary must form a special court with a high-ranking judge and dozens of experts…This is not an ordinary case. The entire world will be watching this court.”

Arrests in airliner case

Meanwhile, Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said: “extensive investigations have taken place and some individuals are arrested.” He did not say how many individuals had been detained or named.

The Ukraine International Airlines plane crashed after it was “unintentionally” targeted by Iranian air defense shortly after takeoff from Tehran last Wednesday, killing all passengers and crew on board.

On Saturday, Iran’s military said that the jetliner was brought down due to “human error”.

The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 176 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians — including many Iranians with dual citizenship — and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials.

The plane was downed at a time when Iran’s Armed Forces were on heightened alert after launching a volley of missiles at Iraqi bases housing US troops.

Iran fired the missiles in retaliation for the US assassination of Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on January 3.

Addressing that issue on Tuesday, Rouhani said while “the root of all sorrows goes back to America… this cannot be a reason for us not to look into all the root causes” of the air disaster.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Referring to the short arrest of the UK envoy to Iran who was detained in an unlawful gathering held in Tehran, the EU diplomatic chief on Sunday called for de-escalation and space for diplomacy.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Spokesperson for Parliament Presiding Board Asadollah Abbasi revealed the start of closed session of the Parliament in the presence of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, IRGC Chief Major General Hossein Salami.

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“Knowing the outcome of the (initial) probe into the tragic incident of downing the Ukrainian passenger plane and the human error proved to be involved therein increased the heavy burden of sadness about the disaster,” Larijani said in a message on Saturday.

He further expressed his “deep condolences” to the bereaved families of the victims of “the disastrous error” and wished them patience and tranquility.

Larijani also urged the relevant organizations to prioritize the probe into the mistake and identify those behind the tragic incident.

It came after the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces announced that the country’s air defense unintentionally shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane on January 8 amid the highest level of readiness because of a possible military attack by the US.

In a statement on Saturday, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces said the incident took place following Iranian missile strikes on a military base of the criminal US regime in Iraq and amid a possible threat of hostile military actions.

“Following the threats from the president and the military commanders of the criminal US that a large number of targets on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s soil would be hit in case of a retaliatory operation, and considering an unprecedented increase in the aerial movements over the region, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces were on the highest level of readiness in order to respond to possible threats,” the statement read.

It also said that military flights by the terrorist American forces had increased around Iran after the missile attack and there were reports that hostile aircraft posing threats to Iranian strategic centers had been tracked on radar screens, making the Iranian Air Defense more sensitive.

The statement added that the Ukrainian passenger plane had been approaching a sensitive military site of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in a latitude and with a form similar to those of a hostile object and that a “human error” caused the jetliner to be hit unintentionally, leading to the martyrdom of the passengers.

It also offered an apology for the human error and expressed sympathy with the bereaved families of the victims, giving an assurance that “fundamental reforms” in the operational processes of the Armed Forces would prevent a recurrence of such errors.

The victims of Wednesday’s crash included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three British nationals.

All 179 people on board the Boeing 737, including nine crew, were killed when the jetliner crashed shortly after takeoff from the airport on Wednesday morning.

The plane operated by Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) was bound for Kyiv.

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Speaking at a televised briefing in Kyiv on Friday, Prystaiko added that Ukraine sees “full cooperation” from Iran in the probe of the plane crash cause.

“Our team has now got access to the black boxes,” he said, adding that Ukrainian experts have also obtained access to the plane’s debris and the crash site.

Kyiv has sent a team of nearly 50 experts to Iran to participate in the probe after Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 went down near Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board.

Despite claims by Canada, Britain, the United States and some other countries with a stake in the crisis-hit Boeing company that the plane was hit by an Iranian missile, probably by mistake, Prystaiko said Ukraine does not want to come to conclusions yet about the cause of the disaster.

The Ukrainian foreign minister said the issue of where the black boxes would be analyzed was still a matter of discussion, but noted that his country wants this to take place in Kyiv.

In an exclusive interview with Press TV on Thursday, Head of Iran Civil Aviation Organization Ali Abedzadeh dismissed as “illogical rumors” reports that the Ukrainian plane was brought down by missiles.

“From a scientific viewpoint, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane,” he said, adding, “The plane caught fire three minutes into the flight, according to what the witnesses have reported and the data collected from the parts of the airplane.”

Iran’s top aviation official also addressed a press conference on Friday and said the results of a probe into the passenger plane crash will show what has happened, but Iran is certain no missile hit the aircraft.

“However, we can state it with certainty that no missile has hit this airplane. The plane was flying for over 1.5 minutes while it was on fire, and the crash site shows the pilot had decided to return [to the airport],” Abedzadeh said.

The Ukrainian foreign minister further told the briefing that he could not confirm evidence of bulldozers being at the site, adding there were various scenarios.

“We do not reject any of the versions. We want to establish the truth,” Prystaiko said.

“At the moment, we have no reason to say that the Iranian authorities are not coordinating their activities or are not sufficiently interacting with Ukraine,” he pointed out.

He noted that the plane had changed course after an incident but it was hard to comment about the reason.

Prystaiko said Ukrainian flights to Iran and Iraq were banned until the investigations are concluded.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council also on Friday confirmed that Ukrainian investigators had access to the crash site of the crash and that they were happy with cooperation from the Iranian side.

Oleksiy Danilov told Swedish broadcaster TV4 that Ukraine had 45 people working in Iran and that they were currently pursuing seven different lines of investigation with no “priority version.”

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“Armed Forces’ internal investigation has concluded that regrettably, missiles fired from Iran, due to human error caused the horrific crash and downing of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people. Investigations continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable mistake,” Rouhani said in a tweet on Saturday.

In a follow-up tweet, he added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences”.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran said in a statement earlier in the day that the country’s military “unintentionally” shot down the passenger jet after it flew close to a sensitive site.

Those responsible would be held accountable, the statement said.

The victims of Wednesday’s crash included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three British nationals.

All 179 people on board the Boeing 737, including nine crew, were killed when the jetliner crashed shortly after takeoff from the airport on Wednesday morning.

The plane operated by Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) was bound for Kyiv.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi says a 10-member delegation from Canada is coming to Iran in order to deal with the Canadian victims of the Wednesday tragic plane crash.

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