Iran said on Saturday it unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane killing 176 people on board due to human error, after initially denying it brought down the plane in the tense aftermath of Iranian missile strikes on US targets in Iraq.
Wednesday’s crash heightened international pressure on Iran after months of friction with the United States and tit-for-tat military strikes. Washington killed an Iranian general last week in Iraq, prompting Tehran to fire at US targets.