Iran ADMITS shooting down Ukrainian jetliner, saying gunner 'mistook plane for a CRUISE MISSILE and had ten seconds to make a decision when his radio failed'
- Iran on Saturday admitted that it shot down Ukrainian passenger jet killing 176, thinking it was a cruise missile
- Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force commander says 'I wish I had died' instead of witnessing such incident
- Protests broke out across Tehran on Saturday in outrage at the coverup of the military's fatal blunder
- Air defense operator had communications outage and believed he had just 10 seconds to take action
- Civilian flights from Tehran were supposed to be grounded following Iran's ballistic missile strike
- But Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said 'US adventurism' was to blame for Iran shooting the plane down
- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani offered condolences to victims and vowed to prosecute those responsible
- Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei orders probe into 'possible faults and flaws in this painful accident'
- The FAA revealed US lives may have been saved after notice barred civilian planes flying over Iran and Iraq
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it a 'national tragedy' and said the Iranians should cooperate
The Iranian missile operator who shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing 176, opened fire because his communications jammed and he thought he had only seconds to take out an incoming cruise missile, a Revolutionary Guards commander has said.
Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh, the Guards' aerospace commander, said on Saturday the operator had mistaken the Boeing 737 for a U.S. cruise missile responding to Iranian ballistic missile attacks, and only had ten seconds to decide whether or not to open fire.
'I wish I had died, and I wouldn't have seen such an incident,' Hajizadeh said somberly at a press conference. He claimed that a 'request had been made to clear the sky from civil flights at that time, but it did not happen due to reservations.'
For days, Iran vehemently denied that it was responsible for downing Flight 752 from Tehran to Kyiv on January 8, accusing the U.S. of spreading malicious propaganda and lies for suggesting such a scenario.
On Saturday night, furious protests broke out across Tehran demanding the resignation of the Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei over the spectacular blunder and cover-up. At least 130 Iranian citizens were killed in the incident
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7875505/Iran-ADMITS-shooting-Ukrainian-jetliner.html
'I wish I had died, and I wouldn't have seen such an incident,' said a somber Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh, the Guards' aerospace commander, at a press conference. Iran admitted that it shot down Flight 752, thinking the plane was a missile.
