The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s statement on the eve of the second anniversary of the tragic Ukrainian plane crash

The Foreign Ministry once again offers condolences to the dear families of the victims and deems it as necessary to notify the public of the following points:

The Foreign Ministry once again offers condolences to the dear families of the victims and deems it as necessary to notify the public of the following points:
Following the air crash, relevant organizations in the Islamic Republic of Iran declared the main cause of the accident and fulfilled their responsibilities and duties with accuracy, transparency and speed in line with domestic rules and regulations and their international commitments. Accordingly, an independent technical team that was in charge of investigating the accident published publicly and on time a technical report in accordance with the International Aviation Convention (the 1994 Chicago Convention) and its appendices in cooperation and interaction with relevant countries and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The report was welcomed by the majority of countries involved in the process of investigating the accident.
Regarding the criminal and judicial aspect of the accident, just as it has been publicly announced, the Judicial Organization of the Iranian Armed Forces and Tehran’s Military Prosecutor’s Office, in line with their inherent and legal duties, have carried out necessary criminal investigations into the incident with an emphasis on upholding justice. So far, several court sessions have been held as part of the trial of the defendants charged with causing the accident in the presence of the families of the victims.
It should be noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran has carried out the criminal and judicial process based on certain legal principles, including the principle of territorial jurisdiction of the place of the accident and the citizenship of the accused, and in compliance with the relevant rules and regulations.
In a bid to express sympathy with the bereft families and alleviate their suffering, the honorable members of the Cabinet took action in good faith on January 5, 2021, and issued an approval to pay a sum of money to the families of all the victims without any discrimination such as their nationalities.
In order to implement this approval, a staff was formed in the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, which has taken the necessary measures to carry out the payment process and has so far made payments to a number of the families according to relevant regulations.
In this regard, Iran declared readiness to pay to the families of 30 foreign nationals in letters sent to the embassies of the relevant governments.
Regarding the diplomatic aspect of the accident, the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomed bilateral talks with related countries and declared its goodwill and gave necessary explanations on the various military, criminal, technical and legal aspects of the accident during three rounds of negotiations with the Ukrainian government in Kiev and Tehran.
In these negotiations, all aspects of the issue were examined in full detail by experts from both sides. Despite the illegal actions of some specific countries that are trying to exploit this painful incident and the plight of the survivors for their own political purposes, the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its readiness to hold bilateral talks with any of the relevant countries over actions that have been taken, based on good faith, respect for the sovereignty of countries and their domestic laws, the international obligations of governments, and in accordance with an agenda agreed by both sides.