Iran’s office on Wednesday allocated $ 150,000 to the families of each of the 176 people killed when Iranian forces shot down a Ukrainian plane in January, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Describing how Iran handled the situation as “unacceptable”, Ukraine said that the amount of the compensation should be negotiated, in accordance with international practice, and that Iran should determine the causes of the tragedy and bring those responsible the Justice.
A statement from the Iranian government said: “The cabinet has approved providing US $ 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,” reported the IRNA.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane shortly after Tehran took off on January 8, mistaking it for a missile when tensions with the United States were high.
“The Ukrainian side expects from Iran a draft technical report on the circumstances of the aircraft’s downing,” said Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He added that Iran has not yet implemented previous agreements, but gave no details.
“This situation is especially unacceptable, since we are talking about the fate of innocent people,” he said.
Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Mohammad Eslami, told state television on Wednesday that the final report on the accident was sent to the countries participating in the investigation.
Under United Nations rules, Iran maintains general control of the investigation, with information from the United States as to the country where the plane, a Boeing 737-800, was built; from Ukraine, where he was operated; and Canada, where many of the victims lived.
International rules on air accident investigations known as Appendix 13 include the recommendation that a final report should appear within 12 months, a deadline that expires next week, although many high-profile investigations take longer.
A spokeswoman for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said by email that the agency had been informed that a “draft investigation report would be distributed” this week, although it did not have access to it. The TSB will not receive a copy of the final report until it is published, she said.
Habib Haghjoo, an Iranian-born Canadian who lost his daughter and granddaughter in the accident, said he did not trust the news from Tehran and stressed that his priority was the report.
“They want to close,” he said of Iran. “We want the truth.”