Iran says to issue final statement on downed jet soon

Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami said the country will soon issue a final statement on a Ukrainian jet that crashed near Tehran in January.

“Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization will soon issue a final statement (on the downed Ukrainian jet) in the presence of a delegation from Ukraine,” Eslami said on Sunday.

According to Tasnim news agency, he added that Tehran is coordinating everything with Ukraine.

Iranian and Ukrainian delegations held the first round of talks on compensation for the downed jet in Kiev on August 1, with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba calling them as “constructive”.

The Kiev-bound UIA Boeing 737 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, 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.

ME