Iran Says Their Missile Shot Down The Plane That Was Carrying 176 People By "Mistake"

According to the military statement read on Iran's state media, the passenger jet had flown close to a sensitive military centre of the Revolutionary Guard and was mistaken for a hostile target.

"The military was at its highest level of readiness," it said, amid the heightened tensions with the United States. "In such a condition, because of human error and in an unintentional way, the flight was hit."

The responsible parties would be referred to a judicial department within the military and will be held accountable, the statement said, as reported by The Guardian.

The statement by Iran's military comes after days of official denials from the country claiming that there was no evidence to show it was one of its missiles that struck the Boeing 737-800 plane.

"A sad day," he wrote.

"Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster. Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations."

Among the victims, 82 of whom were Iranian and at least 63 of them were Canadians.

The flight, which was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members, was enroute to Kyiv, Ukraine.

According to The New York Times, the video, which was published on Thursday, 9 January, "showed a small explosion as the plane flew above Parand, a city near the airport".