Iran’s president Rouhani says downing Ukrainian plane ‘unforgivable error’

DUBAI: Iran will punish all those responsible for the accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane, President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on Tuesday, adding that the “tragic event” would be investigated thoroughly. “It was an unforgivable error ... one person cannot be solely responsible for the plane crash,” he said.

Meanwhile, arrests have been made in relation to the plane crash, Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Gholamhossein Esmaili said.“The judiciary should form a special court with a ranking judge and dozens of experts,” Rouhani said in a speech televised in Iran on Tuesday. “This is not an ordinary case. The entire the world will be watching this court.”

Rouhani promised that his administration would pursue the case “by all means.” “The responsibility falls on more than just one person,” he said, adding that those found culpable “should be punished.” “There are others, too, and I want that this issue is expressed honestly,” he said, without elaborating.
“Iranian armed forces admitting their mistake is a good first step ... We should assure people that it will not happen again,” Rouhani said, adding that his government was “accountable to Iranian and other nations who lost lives in the plane crash.”

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