The Iranian cabinet on Wednesday allocated $ 150,000 to the families of each of the 176 people who died when Iranian troops shot down a Ukrainian plane in January, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Ukraine described the handling of Iran’s situation as ‘unacceptable’, saying the amount of compensation should be negotiated in accordance with international practice, and that Iran should determine the causes of the tragedy and bring those responsible to justice. .
An Iranian government statement said: “The Cabinet approved the provision of $ 150,000 or its equivalent in euros as soon as possible to the families and survivors of each of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash,” IRNA reported.
Iran’s revolutionary guards say they accidentally shot down Ukraine’s International Airlines plane shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, confusing it as a missile when tensions with the United States were high. wash.
“The Ukrainian side expects from Iran a draft technical report on the circumstances of the shooting down of the plane,” said Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry. He added that Iran had to implement agreements even earlier, but did not provide details.
“This situation is especially unacceptable because we are talking about the fate of innocent people,” he said.
Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami told state television on Wednesday that the final report on the crash had been sent to the countries participating in the investigation.
Under United Nations rules, Iran retains overall control of the investigation, with the input of the United States as the country where the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was built; of Ukraine, where it is operated; and from Canada, where many of the victims lived.
International rules on air accident investigations, known as Appendix 13, contain a recommendation that a final report be published within twelve months, a time frame that expires next week, although many high-profile inquiries take longer.
A spokesman for the Transport Safety Board of Canada said in an email that the agency had been notified this week that a ‘draft investigation report would be distributed’, although it would not have access to it. The TSB will only receive a copy of the final report when it is published, she said.
Habib Haghjoo, a Canadian who was born in Iran and lost his daughter and granddaughter in the accident, said he did not trust the news from Tehran and stressed that the report was his priority.
“They want to shut it down,” he said of Iran. “We want the truth.”