Iran envoy apologizes for his wrong statement over plane crash

Iranian Ambassador to the UK Hamid Baeidinejad in a message on Saturday expressed his apology and regretted over his wrong statement about Ukrainian plane crash.

"In my statement yesterday to the UK media, I conveyed the official findings of responsible authorities in my country that missile could not be fired and hit the Ukrainian plane at that period of time," Baeidinejad tweeted on Saturday.

"I appologise and regret for conveying such wrong findings," he added.

Earlier, in an interview with British media 'Sky News', Baeidinejad said: "We are very clear and confident about our military and missiles.”

“We should be very careful not to jump to any judgement and let the experts see and in fact verify first the black box which is the most important element to help us to have the full story and the voice recorder,” he noted.

The plane belonging to Ukrainian airlines crashed near Tehran minutes after the take-off from Imam Khomeini Airport after its engine caught fire.

All the 167 passengers and nine crew members were killed in the crash.

Meanwhile, General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces in a statement said: Hours after Iran's missile strike, the warplanes belonging to the terrorist American forces increased flights in the airspace surrounding Iran with reports keeping to come about some flying targets which were moving towards Iran's defense targets. Also, numerous cases were observed on radar screens which demanded further alertness on the part of the Iranian air force defense units.

The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces hereby extends its condolences to the bereaved families of the air disaster as well as those foreign nationals aboard the flight. It also offers its apology for the human error which caused the crash.