President Hassan Rouhani of Iran has declared that the downing of the Ukrainian plane in Tehran was an “unforgivable error” and assured that “all those involved will be punished.” In a televised speech on Tuesday, Rouhani emphasized that the “tragic event” would be thoroughly investigated and stressed that “one person cannot be solely responsible for the crash.” Without providing further details, he expressed the need for an honest expression of the multiple factors involved. He acknowledged the Iranian armed forces’ admission of their mistake as a positive first step and acknowledged the accountability of the Iranian government to the lives lost, both Iranian and from other nations. Additionally, he has ordered the establishment of a special court with a ranking judge and numerous experts to conduct the investigation, emphasizing that “the entire world will be watching this court.”
Iran’s judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Esmaili, confirmed on Wednesday that some individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident. These developments follow Ukraine’s demand for Iran to punish those responsible for the shooting of the Ukrainian airliner and provide compensation to the victims in light of Iran’s admission of accidentally downing the Ukraine International Airlines plane, resulting in the tragic deaths of all 176 people on board.