Iran said on Saturday its military had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane killing all 176 aboard, saying air defences were fired in error while on high alert in the tense aftermath of Iranian missile strikes on US targets in Iraq.
Iran had denied for days after Wednesday's crash that it brought down the plane, although a top Revolutionary Guards commander said on Saturday that he had informed the authorities about the unintentional missile strike the same day it happened.
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Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who until Saturday had kept silent about the crash, said information should be made public, while top officials and the military issued apologies.
But state television suggested revealing the truth about what happened might be used by "enemies of Iran," typically a term used to refer to the United States and Israel.
The crash heightened international pressure on Iran after months of friction with the United States and tit-for-tat attacks. A US drone strike had killed a top Iranian military commander in Iraq on Jan. 3, prompting Tehran to fire at US targets on Wednesday.
Canada, which had 57 citizens on board, and the United States had both said they believed an Iranian missile brought down the aircraft, although they said it was probably an error.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote on Twitter, promising that those behind the incident would be prosecuted. "My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families."
Responding to Iran's announcement on Saturday, Ukraine demanded an official apology and compensation. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for "a complete and thorough investigation" with Iran's full cooperation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter that "human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster", citing an initial armed forces investigation into the crash of the Boeing 737-800.
A military statement said the plane flew close to a sensitive military site of the elite Revolutionary Guards a time of high alert, although Ukraine and the carrier said the plane had not deviated from a normal flight corridor.
Ukraine International Airlines said Iran should have closed the airport. Its vice president said the plane stuck strictly to its course and the carrier had received no indication it faced a threat. Instead, he said, it had been permitted to take off.
Aviation experts said it is up to a country to close its airspace when there is a risk and many other airlines were diverting planes from the area.
Experts said a probe would almost certainly have revealed tell-tale signs on the smashed fuselage of a missile strike.
A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces:
Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster
Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations.
💔— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 11, 2020
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh said on Saturday that he "wished he could die himself" when he first heard about the Ukrainian airlines crash that killed all 176 aboard.
"I was in the west of the country following the completion of missile strikes against the US bases when I heard the heart-wrenching news of the Ukrainian airlines flight crash. When I confirmed what had happened, I really wished I could die myself. I said that I wished I could die to not witness such an event. For a lifetime we [IRGC] have made ourselves ready to die for the people. Today, we are trading our reputation with almighty God and in these very difficult circumstances, I am here before you to explain what happened," he said.
Germany's foreign minister called on Iran to take the appropriate measures following what he said was the "catastrophe" of it inadvertently shooting down the Ukrainian plane near the Iranian capital.
Heiko Maas told Funke Mediengruppe media on Saturday: "It's important that Iran has brought clarity. Now it should take the appropriate measures in the further investigation of this horrible catastrophe so that something like this cannot happen again."
Maas said that, "In these hours, our thoughts are with the victims and their families in all the affected nations."
"There's nothing you can do to cover it up or hide it," said Anthony Brickhouse, an air safety expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and former US National Transportation Safety Board investigator. "Evidence is evidence."
Experts said mounting international scrutiny would have made it all but impossible to hide signs of a missile strike in any investigation and Iran may have felt a U-turn was better than battling rising criticism abroad and growing grief and anger at home, as many victims were Iranians with dual nationality.
In Twitter messages, angry Iranians asked why the plane was allowed to take off with tensions in Iran so high. The plane came down when Tehran was on alert for US reprisals in the hours after Iran launched rockets at US troops in Iraqi bases.
