Ukrainian plane crash near Tehran caused by human error: Iran

Iran's Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) published on Wednesday its final report on the Ukrainian passenger plane crash in January 2020 near Tehran, identifying a "mistake" by the air defense operator as the cause of the incident, reported Xinhua.

"The plane was identified as a hostile target by the operator of an air defense system stationed around Tehran, and two missiles were fired at it," the CAO said in the preface of its 285-page report published on its official website, confirming preliminary official findings.

However, the report was a "cynical attempt" to hide the true reasons for the downing of the plane, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Facebook.

The Ukrainian aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was hit on Jan. 8, 2020 by two missiles shot by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps shortly after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.