Iran to compensate for downing Ukrainian airliner
(VOVWORLD) - Iran has agreed to compensate the families of passengers who were on a Ukrainian passenger plane that was shot down by Iranian forces outside Tehran in January, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde said Thursday.
 Rescue workers carry the body of a victim of the Ukrainian plane crash in Shahedshahr, southwest of Tehran, on January 8, 2020 (Photo: AP) |
The agreement was reached after negotiations between Iran and the countries whose citizens were among the victims. It is not known what sums will be paid or when.
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was heading to Kiev when it was shot down by Iran's air defenses on January 8 in what Iranian officials eventually acknowledged was a "mistake." Many of the 176 victims were Iranian-Canadians, but there were also nationals of Afghanistan, Britain, Sweden, and Ukraine on board. Iranian forces were on high alert at the time of the tragedy, which occurred hours after Iran launched missile strikes on an Iraqi military base housing US troops. The Iranian strikes were carried out in response to the killing of a top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport.