Iran plane crash: IRGC aerospace chief says wishes he "were dead"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran's Revolutionary Guards have admitted it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner earlier this week. The Guards' aerospace commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said on state television Saturday, January 11: "I take full responsibility and I will obey whatever decision is taken." He said he "wished" he "were dead" when he learned about the fate of the aircraft, the Voice of America says.

Hajizadeh said the missile operator also encountered some communication problems and "he made a bad decision, triggered the missile and hit the plane."

On Wednesday, a Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 people onboard.

Earlier Saturday, Ukraine's president had called for a full admission of guilt for the downing of the plane.

Iran has admitted that its military made a horrendous miscalculation when it shot down a Ukrainian jetliner earlier this week in the outskirts of Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard.

Hajizadeh denied that some authorities, including those in the Iranian Aviation Organization, attempted to "hide" the truth. "They made comments based on their own knowledge," he said, according to Xinhua.

Hajizadeh added that "the Iranian armed forces and the IRGC did not want to hide the truth either."