Alwaght- Iran dismissed claims that the crashed Ukrainian Boeing 737 was hit by a missile, with the country’s top aviation official saying he was certain no missile hit the aircraft.
The remarks were made by Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Iran's Aviation Organization, during a press conference held in Tehran Friday after countries with a stake in crisis-hit Boeing claimed that the airliner had probably been brought down by a missile.
Earlier on Friday Ali Rabiei, spokesman for the Iranian administration, said in a statement roundly dismissed the Pentagon’s allegations that missiles downed the Ukrainian jet, saying, “No one will assume responsibility for such a big lie once it is known that the claim had been fraudulent.”
“It is unfortunate that the psychological operation of the US government, and those supporting it knowingly and unknowingly, are adding insult to the injury of the bereaved families and victimizing them for certain goals by propagating such fallacies,” the senior Iranian official pointed out.
“According to international regulations, representatives from the civil aviation agency of the country where the crash has taken place (Iran), the civil aviation agency of the country which has issued the airworthiness certificate (Ukraine), the owner of the airliner (Ukraine International Airlines), the aircraft manufacturer (Boeing Co.), and the jet engine manufacturer (CFM International) can participate in the investigation process. A delegate from Ukraine is already in Iran. We call upon Boeing Co. to dispatch its own representative to participate in the process of reading the black box data,” Ali Rabieiadded.
“We also welcome the participation of all countries which have lost their nationals in the mishap,” the statement pointed out.
Iran calls on Canada to hand over info on crashed plane
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Sayyed Abbas Mousavi, said Iran has launched an investigation into the cause of the plane crash in compliance with international principles and those of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Mousavi highlighted that Iran has extended invitations to Ukraine and Boeing Co. to participate in the investigation.
He then offered his deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the participation of experts from countries whose nationals have been killed in the disaster. We ask the Canadian prime minister (Justin Trudeau) or any government with related information to come forward and provide the info to the committee probing the crash in Iran,” the Iranian diplomat noted.
US to join probe: Iran official
In another development, an Iranian official told Reuters Thursday that the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has accepted Iran's invitation to participate in the investigation into the Ukrainian jetliner crash
"The NTSB has replied to our chief investigator and has announced an accredited representative," Reuters quoted Farhad Parvaresh, Iran's ICAO representative, as saying.
A person briefed on the matter confirmed the NTSB had agreed to take part but said it was unclear what if anything its representative would be able to do under US sanctions.
The US is allowed to take part under global rules since the Boeing 737-800NG jet was designed and built there.
Parvaresh added that the Islamic Republic is ready to provide consular facilities and visas for accredited investigators.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Press TV on Thursday night, Head of Iran Civil Aviation Organization Ali Abedzadeh rejected as “illogical rumors" reports that the Ukrainian plane that crashed south of the capital Tehran was hit by missiles.
“From a scientific viewpoint, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane. The plane caught fire three minutes into the flight, according to what the witnesses have reported and the data collected from the parts of the airplane,” Abedzadeh told Press TV.
“The pilot tried to return the airplane at the altitude of 8,000 ft., but due to the fire, the airplane crashed and exploded,” he added.
“We can say that the airplane, considering the kind of the crash and the pilot’s efforts to return it to Imam Khomeini airport, didn’t explode in the air. So, the allegation that it was hit by missiles is totally ruled out,” the official noted.
His remarks came after unnamed American officials claimed that the Ukrainian passenger plane was mostly likely brought down by anti-aircraft missiles.
The unnamed US officials alleged that the Ukrainian airliner was most likely brought down accidentally by Iranian anti-aircraft missiles.
Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s minister of road and urban development dismissed as "untrue" rumors that suggest the Wednesday crash of the Ukrainian airliner was because of a missile attack.
Mohammad Eslami said the Boeing 737-800 aircraft crashed after encountering a technical glitch.
