Under the title "Intentionally Shot Down: Direct Ukrainian Accusation Against Tehran," the Al-Arabiya.net website published an article about the first direct accusation from a Ukrainian official against Iranian authorities for allegedly intentionally shooting down the Ukrainian plane in January of last year over Tehran, which resulted in the death of 176 passengers. Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, who oversees the investigation into this matter, stated that he believes "the Iranian regime shot down the plane deliberately to avoid a spiral of military tension with the United States."
Additionally, Ukraine's Deputy Attorney General, Gunduz Mamedov, accused Iran of concealing the identities of the ten individuals involved in shooting down the civilian passenger plane behind a veil of ambiguous secrecy, noting that his country has requested information from Tehran regarding these individuals. "Information through the media," he said.
On Thursday, he announced plans for Ukrainian officials to hold an online meeting with the new military prosecutor in Tehran. He added that Ukraine had managed, once again, to obtain information regarding the downing of the passenger plane through "media sources," but this information was "hidden" during official conversations. Furthermore, he stated that, under international law, countries collaborating on a criminal case must exchange information with one another.
Deliberate Concealment
The Deputy Attorney General accused Iranian officials of "deliberately concealing the dimensions of this horrific crime," warning that Kyiv "has the legal tools to deliver justice and will certainly use them." The public relations report from the Ukrainian Attorney General's office noted that Ukrainian officials are attempting to communicate online with Nasser Saraj, the new military prosecutor in Tehran, who replaced Gholam Abbas Torki.
Accusation of 10 Without Names
The former military prosecutor in Tehran announced on April 6 that an indictment had been issued for "10 individuals involved" in that tragedy, without revealing their names. It is worth mentioning that the Ukrainian passenger plane was shot down by two missiles fired by the Revolutionary Guard shortly after taking off from Tehran International Airport on January 8, 2020, resulting in the death of all aboard. After the tragedy, Iranian authorities admitted, after days of secrecy and contradictory statements, that Tehran's air defense had fired at the Boeing plane heading to Kyiv.
