Investigation into Ukraine International Airlines crash: Iran invites US and other countries' representatives

The US was invited because the Boeing headquarters is located in the country.

Iran's Civil Aviation Authority head Ali Abedzadeh said Iran has officially invited representatives of the US and other countries to join the investigation into the crash of the UIA plane. Reports Eurointegration, citing Abedzadeh's statement.

A press release from Iran's Civil Aviation Authority says: "Abedzadeh said the investigation team, in accordance with the standards set out in Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention, has proposed that all states recognized as beneficiaries under this document provide their representatives to take part in the crash investigation and appoint their own team of specialists."

Abedzadeh said that immediately after the crash Iran informed Ukraine, as the country where the plane is registered, and the US, as the country where the Boeing headquarters is located. Sweden and Canada were also informed, since citizens of those countries were on board.

The agency head criticized media reports that Iran refused to hand over the black boxes from the plane to other countries, and also refused to cooperate with the US and Boeing: "In response to a journalist's question, I only explained the legal procedure for investigating crashes, in particular that the sole source of the investigation is the Iranian investigative committee."

Earlier, Iran provided the first report on the investigation into the UIA air crash, which states that the plane caught fire while still in the air and the pilots tried to return it to the airport.

This morning, Ukrainian President recorded a video address announcing that Ukrainian specialists were leaving for Iran to investigate the crash of the UIA plane, and declared January 9 a National Day of Mourning.