Iranian FM Releases Statement on 2nd Anniversary Ukrainian Plane’s Tragic Incident

The Kiev-bound UIA Boeing 737 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people on board, mostly Iranian and Canadian citizens. Iran said the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile due to human error.

According to the Ministry’s statement, the Islamic Republic of Iran has conducted criminal and judicial proceedings in line with specific legal concepts, such as the principle of territorial jurisdiction, the site where the incident had happened and the accused people's nationality, as well as applicable laws and regulations.

The statement said that  on January 7, 2021, Iran cabinet ministers fixed an amount of money to be paid to the relatives of all victims (regardless of their nationality) as part of efforts to provide comfort to the bereaved families of the disaster and alleviate their pain. And so far, payments were made to a number of families in accordance with the relevant regulations.

The statement said that the Islamic Republic of Iran has welcomed bilateral meetings with countries whose nationals died in the accidental downing of the Ukrainian passenger jet, and has declared its goodwill, providing the necessary explanations on the various military, technical, and legal aspects of the incident.

The Ministry continued that a note was sent to the embassies of the relevant governments, declaring The Islamic Republic’s readiness to pay the survivors of 30 foreign nationals of the incident.

In three rounds of bilateral talks with the Ukrainian government in Kiev and Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran has welcomed bilateral talks with relevant countries and has declared its goodwill, providing the necessary explanations on the various military, technical, and legal aspects of the incident.

The statement added that despite the illegal actions taken by certain countries that are trying to take advantage of this painful event and the suffering of the survivors for their own political purposes, the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its readiness to engage and hold bilateral negotiations with any of the relevant countries – based on good faith, respect for the sovereignty of states, omestic laws, the international obligations of governments and the agreed agenda.

Iran honors 73 victims of Ukrainian airplane incident as martyrs

Meanwhile, Head of the Foundation of Iranian Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi also said on Friday that the organization has designated 73 victims out of 133 Iranians on board of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 as martyrs, according to IRNA.

Participating in a ceremony to mark the victims of the incident, which happened near Tehran on January 8, 2020 when the Ukrainian airplane was mistakenly shot down a few minutes after takeoff, Ghazizadeh Hashemi told reporters that his Foundation will continue coordination with families of other victims to pave the ground for the same purpose.

The official continued that in accordance with the laws of the Islamic Republic the Iranian victims of the incident are considered as martyrs and their families can be provided with services that the Foundation provides.