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Reaction Swift, Stern to Iran's Downing of Ukrainian Jetliner

VOA News

   In the face of mounting evidence, Iran acknowledged Saturday that it
   had shot down a Ukrainian jetliner by accident this weekafter it took
   off inTehran, killing all 176 people aboard.

   Once Iran made the admission, after three days of denying it was
   responsible, the reaction came swiftly, from Iran and around the world.

   From Iran:

   GeneralAmir AliHajizadeh, the head of theIslamic Revolutionary Guard
   Corps'aerospace division, said his unit acceptedfull responsibility for
   the shootdown. In an address broadcast by state TV, he saidthatwhen he
   learned about the downing of the plane, "I wished I was dead."

   Hajizadehsaid the missile operator mistook the 737 for a cruise missile
   and didn't obtain approval from his superiors because of disruptions in
   communications.

   "He had 10 seconds to decide. He could have decided to strike or not to
   strike and under such circumstances, he took the wrong
   decision,"Hajizadehsaid.

   Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, expressed his "deep
   sympathy" to the families of the victims and called on the armed forces
   to "pursue probable shortcomings and guilt in the painful incident."

   President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged his country's responsibility.

   "Iran is very much saddened by this catastrophic mistake and I, on
   behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, express my deep condolences to
   the families of victims of this painful catastrophe," the president
   said.

   Rouhani added he had ordered "all relevant bodies to take all necessary
   actions[to ensure]compensation" to the families of those killed.

   A leader of Iran's opposition Green Movement, Mehdi Karroubi, called on
   Khamenei to step down over the handling of the downed airliner.

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