Iran Press/ Iran News: Zarif added in the memo on Wednesday night: "A year has passed since the bitter dawn of December 9, 1998, and the tragedy of the crash of a Ukrainian plane and the martyrdom of the elite children of this border and the sacrifice of innocent people." A tragedy that has devastated all of Iran. I have sat next to some of them, and I am ashamed of my utter disability in sympathy with the bereaved.
He continued: "As soon as I learned of the situation on the afternoon of Friday, December 11, 1998, I emphasized that I should share the same situation honestly with the people and the world with shame.
Zarif added: "In those bitter hours of Friday afternoon, I knew very well that acknowledging such a bitter reality in the world is unprecedented or very unprecedented, and how much international pressure would follow for me and my colleagues, and I understood that accepting the terrible mistake of one or more people for bravery How difficult it is for them to devote their lives to defending these people and the borderland by sincerity.
He emphasized: "Although I had no role or even information about the military developments at midnight and the terrible tragedy on the morning of Black Wednesday, January 9, 1998, as a humble official with a heart full of sorrow, I apologized to everyone and I am still ashamed and apologizing."
He said: "Since that day, together with my colleagues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have sincerely tried to fulfil our duties to find out the truth, help alleviate the suffering of families, prevent their rights from being violated and at the same time protect national interests against the evildoers of this border." Let's do it.
The Iranian Foreign Minister continued: "I understand that performing this complex task has sometimes caused the sensitivity and resentment of the bereaved, and I sincerely apologize to them."
"Again, I know that none of these efforts can ultimately compensate for a small part of this huge and irreparable damage," Zarif said.
The recent government decree is the first step, but as stated in the decree, it does not replace criminal proceedings incompetent domestic courts, he noted.
On January 8, 2020, a passenger plane belonging to Ukrainian Airlines crashed near Tehran following a human error, which led to the death of 167 passengers and nine crew members.
Most of the passengers on the plane were Iranian nationals, and the 32 passengers on the flight also had passports from five countries: Canada, Afghanistan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.
After first field investigations, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces said in a statement that the Ukrainian Boeing 737 plane was shot down due to human error at a time of heightened tensions and a threat of war from the US.
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