Iran on Wednesday allocated $150,000 for the families of each of the 176 victims of a Ukrainian plane shot down last year in Iranian airspace, Iranian media reported.
“The cabinet approved the provision of $150,000 or the equivalent in euros as soon as possible to the families and survivors of each of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash”, an Iranian government statement said.
All 176 people aboard the plane were killed on 8 January. Tehran has later admitted that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards accidentally shot down the airliner, mistaking it for a missile. The incident came at a time of tension with the United States.
Ukraine called for those responsible to be brought to justice: “The Ukrainian side expects from Iran a draft technical report on the circumstances of the aircraft shooting down”, ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said, and added: “This situation is especially unacceptable, since we are talking about the fate of innocent people”.
Under United Nations rules, Iran retains overall control of the investigation while the United States and Ukraine are accredited as the countries where the jet was respectively built and operated. Canada has also played a role as the home of many of the victims on the downed plane.