Man who shot down Ukrainian plane in prison: Iran

TEHRAN - 25 January 2020: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the man who mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane outside Tehran on January 8 is now in prison, Iranian news agency Mehr reported on Saturday.

During an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Zarif was asked why it took the Iranian government three days to announce the plane was shot down.

"This was a complicated situation in a complicated time. Others needed much more time. Almost 32 years ago, the US shot down an Iranian passenger plane. As of today, they still haven’t issued an official apology," Zarif told the magazine.

"The American officer who was responsible for shooting it down even received a medal. Meanwhile, the Iranian man who shot down the Ukrainian plane is now in prison", he added.