Iran will be sending the black boxes from a Ukrainian passenger plane that was mistakenly shot down in January by Iranian forces to France for review, Iran’s foreign minister said Monday.
Iranian officials initially said a mechanical problem was to blame for the fiery crash that killed all 176 passengers, but it was later revealed that a Russian-made surface-to-air missile accidentally fired by Iranian forces was the cause of the incident, which occurred amid skyrocketing tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will send the black box of the Ukrainian airplane to France in the coming few days in order to read its information,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, as quoted by state-run news agency IRNA.
The fate of the black boxes from the flight, which reveal vital data and recordings from the cockpit, has been at the center of an international dispute, with several western nations calling for the information to be released.
The foreign minister reportedly made the commitment in a call with Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. Canada lost 57 citizens in the crash.
Earlier this month, Iran’s United Nations envoy said that Iran had sent a request to France’s BEA (Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses or the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety when translated in English) to review the black box information.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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