A statement by the Iranian Armed Forces on Jan. 11 said the plane was mistakenly shot after it changed course and started flying towards a military base. The statement blamed hostile U.S. military actions for a state of heightened alert, but also acknowledged the need for “fundamental reforms” to prevent such an occurrence in the future. It also promised a full report and to hold accountable those responsible for the loss of life.
Here’s a rough translation of the statement:
“The noble and revolutionary Iranian Islamic nation,
In the wake of the heartbreaking crash of a Boeing passenger plane, a Ukrainian airline that crashed in the early hours of Wednesday morning (Jan. 8), in the wake of a missile attack on the U.S. base of criminals and the possible impact of military action on the incident, the Armed Forces immediately set up an inspection team composed of technical and operational experts, independent of the State Aviation Authority, to investigate this possibility, and the results of the round-the-clock review are made available to the Honorable Iranian People:
1. Following the threats of President (Donald J. Trump) and the criminal America’s military commanders targeting a large number of targets in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the event of a counter-operation and in view of the unprecedented increase in air traffic in the region, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces were prepared to respond to possible threats at the highest level.
2. In the hours after the missile strikes, US terrorist forces’ warplanes around the country increased, and some reports of airstrikes targeting strategic centers in the country were reported to numerous defense units and targets on some radar plates. Caused greater sensitivity in air defense complexes.
3. In such critical and critical conditions, Flight PS752 of the Ukrainian airlines departs from
Imam Khomeini Airport and, while in rotation, is completely approaching a sensitive military center of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps and at altitude and in form of a hostile flight. In these circumstances, the plane was accidentally hit by human error and, unfortunately, which unfortunately results in the martyrdom of dear compatriots and the death of a number of foreign nationals.
4. The Armed Forces staff, while expressing condolences and sympathy to the grieving families of other countries and the apologies for the human error, giving full assurance that the pursuit of fundamental reforms in the operational processes at the Armed Forces level can be repeated. Make such errors impossible and immediately report the culprit to the Armed Forces Judicial Organization in order to deal with any legal errors.
5. It was also announced that the relevant authorities in the Revolutionary Guards should, as soon as possible, present detailed explanations to the people of Iran.”