Iran arrests several people for shooting down Ukrainian plane killing 176 and vows to ‘punish’ those responsible

THE Iranian authorities have arrested some of those involved in shooting down a packed passenger plane in Tehran, it’s been reported. This morning’s news comes as the country’s president vowed those linked to the “unforgivable error”  will be punished. Hassan Rouhani said: “Iranian armed forces admitting their mistake is a good first step. “We should […]

THE Iranian authorities have arrested some of those involved in shooting down a packed passenger plane in Tehran, it’s been reported.

This morning’s news comes as the country’s president vowed those linked to the “unforgivable error”  will be punished.

Reuters

The passenger plane was shot down shortly after taking off from Tehran[/caption]

Hassan Rouhani said: “Iranian armed forces admitting their mistake is a good first step.

“We should assure people that it will not happen again” however he admitted his government was “accountable to Iranian and other nations who lost lives”.

Iran’s judiciary spokesman then revealed some suspects have been arrested for their role in the  tragedy – but he did not give any further details.

There were 167 passengers and nine crew members on the Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev when it was hit with a missile.

Iranian state television initially said flight PS 752 came down due to what it described as “technical problems” after leaving Imam Khomeini airport.

However, pictures of the wreckage show the Boeing 737 was hit on the underside of the cockpit before it went down last Tuesday.

Ukraine’s top security official told the BBC that the pilots died before the jet hit the ground – killing all on board.

Speaking about a photo of the wrecked plane which shows the bottom half of the cockpit is missing, he said: “The photo shows the part where the missile hit.

“It hit the cockpit from underneath. We think this is proof. And it explains why we didn’t hear anything from the pilots. They died immediately after the first hit.

“As soon as the Iranians gave us access to these items, our specialists kept us updated every hour as to what was happening.

“And very quickly as we gathered information, we understood what had happened.

The Kiev-bound flight came down hours after Tehran launched a barrage of rockets against US targets in Iraq.

And after repeated denials, President Rouhani admitted Saturday his forces gunned down the civilian aircraft because they mistook it for an American fighter plane.

The Iranian military apologised for the disaster, promising to upgrade their systems to prevent such mistakes in the future.

They said those responsible for the strike on the plane would be prosecuted.

But in brazen remarks, Iranian leaders attempted to shift the blame claiming the “aggressiveness” of the United States in the region made their soldiers jittery.