TEHRAN, February 4. /TASS/: Tehran will continue cooperating with other countries in the investigation of the Ukrainian plane crash despite the fact that a recording of talks between Iranian dispatchers had been leaked, Iran Civil Aviation Organization said in a statement released on Tuesday.
"The organization will continue investigating different aspects of the crash of the Ukrainian plane in accordance with national legislation and international norms in cooperation with the countries that have any connection to this incident," the statement said adding that publication of audio recordings of talks between dispatchers "runs counter to the norms of conducting investigations into plane crashes."
On Monday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky told 1+1 TV channel that Kiev has an important recording of Iranian dispatchers which allegedly proves that Tehran knew about downing the Ukrainian plane from the very start.
The translated recording was published by several Ukrainian media outlets. According to the translated recording, an Iranian pilot noted that a missile hit the plane and reported it to an airport's dispatcher.
On January 8, a Boeing-737 of the Ukrainian International Airlines bound for Kiev crashed minutes after takeoff from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport. The crash killed all 176 people on board — citizens of Afghanistan, Germany, Iran, Canada and Ukraine and also British and Swedish subjects. On January 11, Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff released a statement admitting the plane had been mistakenly shot down. According to Iranian Brigadier-General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, the plane was misidentified as a cruise missile by the air defense force.
