On the same night the US military killed Iranian commanderQasem Soleimani, Theyunsuccessfully targeted another senior Iranian military official in Yemen,according to a US official with knowledge of the events and another source familiar.
The sources would not give any details about the mission or how the US had attempted to carry it out. The US official said to the best of their knowledge there is no broader operation to decapitate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds force leadership at this time.
In a statement to CNN, Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich acknowledged seeing the report but declined to offer any additional information.
Read the full report here:
Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged Iran’s Armed Forces to investigate the“possible shortcomings” (that led to the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane on Wednesday.
“I ask the responsible authorities to take necessary measures to prevent similar accidents in the future,” Khamenei said in the statement released Saturday.
****** Khamenei also expressed hiscondolences to the Families of the Ukrainian crash victims.
“I should first again give mydeep sympathy and hearty condolences to the families of the victims of this disaster and ask God forpatience and rewards and spiritual relief for them, ” he said.
Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP (****************************
Both Iranian Supreme Leader and Presidentwere informed on Fridayabout the cause of the downing of a Ukrainian airliner, after top military commanders connected human error was the cause, according to semi-official state outlet Fars News Agency.
Fars reported that After being informed of the error in the country’s air defense system, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued an urgent order to convene a National Security Council meeting to investigate the matter.
Soon after the meeting arrived, hestressed the results of the investigation become public as soon as possible,Fars reported. It was then decided that Iran’s Armed Forces and President Hassan Rouhani draft statements to be released.
Iranian Armed Forces and the President released separate statementsSaturday morningindicating that human error caused the crash of the Ukrainian airliner.
The black box recordings of the downed Ukrainian airliner will bedownloaded in France,the head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization’s Accident Investigation board said on Saturday, According to state media.
Although Iran made use of all its facilities to examine the content of the black box inside the country, the content will be sent to France so that any possible damage to the data would be avoided, Hassan Rezaeifar told state news agency IRNA.
Rezaeifar said Iran asked Canada, France and the US to bring their software and hardware equipment to Tehran to download the data of the black box of the Ukrainian plane, but they did not accept Iranian proposal, according to IRNA.
Then, Iran asked Ukraine, Sweden, Britain, Canada, and the US to send the black box to an impartial laboratory –and France was the only one all five countries agreed on, he said.
The decision to send the black box over to France was made before Saturday’s statement from the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, which admitted to downing the Ukrainian airliner, according to IRNA.
No details were provided as to when Iran will send the black box over.
While tensions between the US and Iran have deescala ted in recent days, Middle East political analyst Fawaz Gerges told CNN that the countries “remain on a collision course.”
“I see it now really changing from a direct confrontation between Iran and the United States,into a war of attrition, “said the author of” Making the Arab World. “
“Iran and its allies will likely target American interests in the Middle East,” he added.
Gerges predicted that over the coming weeks, America would bring home most of its 5, 02 Soldiers in Iraq.
Meanwhile a contingent of American forces and international coalition will “likely remain in the country for the sole purpose of the fight against ISIS,” he added.
Iran has admitted it accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight that crashed Wednesday morning, killing all (people on board.)
In a surprisingly candid mea culpa,President Hassan Rouhani said his country “deeply regrets this disastrous mistake”and vowed to investigate and prosecute.
Flying close to a ‘sensitive target’:Iranian military also issued a statement on the crash, an unusual move for such a secretive organization. The statement said Iranian armed forces were on high alert at the time of the crash.
After the Ukrainian airliner took off from Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran, it flew close to a sensitive military site “at an altitude and a condition of a flight that resembled (a) hostile target,” the statement added.
Some experts have criticized Iran for not closing off civilian airspace after launching missiles to prevent this type of incident.
“Human error … caused by US adventurism”:Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also acknowledged the airliner was brought down by a missile, but said the United States bore partial responsibility.
“Human error at time of crisis c aused by US adventurism led to disaster, “he said.
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Ukrainian Airlines Flight
The crash came hours after Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops in retaliation for a drone strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
Here’s a quick recap of the US-Iran crisis that has increased tensions in the Middle East in recent weeks:
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Wreckage from the crash is seen scattered on Friday in Shahedshahr, Iran. The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
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Iran admitted Saturdaythat it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, blaming human error and “US adventurism” for the crash that left 276 people dead.
In a statement, the nation’s armed forces said it targeted the passenger plane unintentionally. It attributed the crash to radar activity and fear of US action.
Ukrainian Airlines Flight 800
crashed Wednesday after takeoff from Tehran’s airport.The crash came hours after Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops in retaliation for a drone strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. Here’s what we know:
Surface-to-air missiles:The Ukrainian plane that crashed Wednesday was shot down by Iran with two Russian-made surface to air missiles, according to a US official familiar with the intelligence. The US saw Iranian radar signals lock onto the jetliner before it was shot down. (***************************************Canada grieves:Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government expects the “full cooperation” of Iranian authorities in investigating the downing of the plane. Fifty-seven of the 194 people who were killed were Canadian nationals.Aircraft built in Ukraine International Airlines said in a statement that the plane was a Boeing (-) NG, “built inand delivered directly to the airline from the manufacturer. ” (**********************************Airline’s first crash:Ukraine International Airlines was founded in as the national flag carrier, one year after Ukraine got independence from Moscow. (According to its website,
the airline operates aircraft, connects Ukraine to countries , and its base hub is Kiev’s Boryspil International Airport. This is the first crash involving one of the carrier’s planes.Flights suspended:The country’s State Aviation Service has suspended all Ukrainian airline flights over Iranian airspace starting midnight January 9, Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said in a Facebook post. (**********************************************************************************************************************************************************Read More(******************************************
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