Iran Press/ Europe: In an interview with Iran Press, Mohsen Baharvand stated that regarding Iranian aviation security, military, and criminal aspects, detailed information was exchanged in the third round of talks.
He said a detailed legal discussion had taken place, and the Iranian court had jurisdiction to hear the case of the Ukrainian plane crash because it was inside Iran.
"The indictment in the case of the Ukrainian plane crash has been issued in an Iranian court, and three judges are examining the case, and if there is a shortcoming in this regard, it will be dealt with according to the law," he noted.
He pointed out that military investigations, judicial investigations, and investigations by Iranian aviation specialists, in collaboration with an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) advisory group and experts from the US and UK, showed that human error caused the crash.
Baharvand underlined that the compensation set by Iran to pay the families of the victims was much higher than what is stated in international law.
He said the Iranian government had agreed to pay $150,000 for each victim, whether Iranian or foreign, which some families received as compensation.
"Politicizing specialized issues hurts everyone because there are aviation standards, whoever abuses politics, the whole international community suffers; the political use of specialized issues causes a country like Canada to commercialize the grief of bereaved families and the blood of victims," he added.
He announced Iran's readiness to cooperate in any way, provided that the authority of the Islamic Republic would be recognized and the sovereignty and immunity of the Iranian government would be respected.
The Ukrainian airliner was shot down shortly after taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport on January 8, killing all 167 passengers and nine crew members.
On January 11, the Armed Forces' General Staff released a statement saying the plane was mistakenly downed near the airport.
The incident happened a few hours after Iran fired dozens of ballistic missiles at a US airbase inside Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of top Iranian military commander, Lt Gen Qasem Soleimani.
The airplane had been mistaken for an invading missile.
214/216
Read more:
Iran criticizes unprofessional behaviors over Ukrainian plane crash
Iran-Ukraine to consult on plane crash
