Iran announced on Saturday, local time, that they had “unintentionally” shot down the Ukrainian jet over Tehran earlier this week that resulted in all 176 passengers and crew dead.
According to The Associated Press, the statement from Iran’s military came after Tehran had repeatedly maintained that it had nothing to do with the crash. The country’s military said that the incident was due to “human error”.
The jet, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, crashed this week shortly after taking off from an airport in Tehran.
Iran for days was denying any role in the crash, however they were faced with increasing scrutiny after the U.S. and several other countries said intelligence pointed to it being shot down.
Shortly before the crash, Iran launched ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases with U.S. troops stationed there.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the plane crash could have been a mistake, echoing other U.S. officials who suggested it was an accident by Iranian officials.
“It’s a tragic thing when I see that. It’s a tragic thing. But somebody could’ve made a mistake on the other side,” Trump said, adding it had “nothing to do with the U.S. It was flying at a pretty rough neighborhood, and somebody could’ve made a mistake.”
Asked if he thought it was a mechanical issue, Trump said he didn’t “think that’s even a question, personally.”
“I have a feeling that it’s just — something very terrible happened,” he said.
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