Iran on Tuesday announced that it had arrested over a dozen of people in relation to the downing of Ukrainian airline which claimed the lives 176 passengers on board.
Iran had earlier vowed to fully and openly investigate the firing of the surface-to-air missile that destroyed the Ukrainian plane, killing all 176 people on board.
President Hassan Rouhani said: “anyone who should be punished must be punished. For our people it is very important in this incident that anyone who was at fault or negligent at any level face justice”
“The judiciary must form a special court with high-ranking judge and dozens of experts… The whole world will be watching.”
State media spokesman, Gholamhossein Esmaili on Tuesday said “extensive investigations have taken place and some individuals are arrested”.
However the identities of those arrested has not been disclosed.
Rouhani called the incident “a painful and unforgivable” mistake and promised that his administration would pursue the case by all means.”
Iranian forces shot the plane down hours after launching a barrage of ballistic missiles at military bases in Iraq housing hundreds of U.S. forces, in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani.
Attorney General William Barr said: “This was a legitimate act of self-defense because it disrupted ongoing attacks that were being conducted, a campaign against the Americans, and it reestablished deterrence,”
“It responded to attacks that had been already committed. Our purpose and our expectation was not to trigger a broader conflict, or events would spin out of control. On the contrary, we believe that the strike would restore deterrence and help avoid a continuing upward spiral of the violence.”