Iran allocates $150,000 for families of victims of Ukraine plane crash

Soldiers carry a coffin containing the remains of one of the eleven Ukrainian victims of the Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 plane disaster during a memorial ceremony at the Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev, Ukraine January 19, 2020. (File/Reuters)

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said they shot down the plane — killing all 176 passengers — after mistaking it for a United States missile. (File/AP)

• Ukraine called Tehran's handling of the situation "unacceptable," and called for those responsible to face justice
• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane shortly after takeoff, mistaking it for a missile

LONDON: Iran’s Cabinet on Wednesday allocated $150,000 for the families of each of the 176 victims of a Ukrainian plane shot down in Iranian airspace in January, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Describing Iran’s handling of the situation as “unacceptable,” Ukraine said the amount of compensation should be negotiated and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
An Iranian government statement said: “The cabinet approved the provision of $150,000 or the equivalent in euros as soon as possible to the families and survivors of each of the victims of the Ukrainian plan crash,” IRNA reported.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said they accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane shortly after takeoff, mistaking it for a missile when tensions with the United States were high.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the compensation amount should be determined through negotiations, taking into account international practice, and that establishing the causes of the tragedy and bringing those responsible to justice was a prerequisite.
“The Ukrainian side expects from Iran a draft technical report on the circumstances of the aircraft shooting down,” ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said, adding that Iran had yet to implement earlier agreements, without giving details.
“This situation is especially unacceptable, since we are talking about the fate of innocent people,” Nikolenko said.
Iran’s Roads and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami told state television on Wednesday that the final report on the crash had been sent to the countries participating in the investigation.
Under United Nations rules, Iran retains overall control of the investigation while the United States and Ukraine are accredited as the countries where the jet was respectively built and operated. Canada has also played a role as the home of many of the victims on the downed plane.
International rules on air crash investigations known as Annex 13 include a recommendation that a final report appears within 12 months, which in this case runs until early January, though many high-profile probes take longer.
A spokewoman for the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada said by email the agency was informed that a “draft investigation report was going to be distributed” this week, although the TSB will not have access to it. The TSB will only receive a copy of the final report when published.
Habib Haghjoo, an Iranian-born Canadian who lost his daughter and grandaughter in the crash, said he did not trust the news from Tehran and stressed that his priority is the report.
“They want to wrap it up,” he said of Iran. “We want the truth.”