[BBC] Iran's military says it "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, Iran's state TV reports.Toldja so.
The statement said it had done so due to "human error" after the plane flew close to a sensitive site belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
"What sensitive site?"
"Tehran International."
Those responsible would be held accountable, the statement said.
"They've been reassigned to traffic duty."
Iran had previously rejected suggestions that one of its missiles brought down the plane near the capital, Tehran, on Wednesday.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
But pressure mounted after the US and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believed Iran had brought the plane down with a missile, possibly accidently.
Very nice of us to leave them a hand to cover their asses. The real reason was excitability and ineptitude.
The crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 with the loss of 176 lives came just hours after Iran carried out missile strikes on two airbases housing US forces in Iraq.
Just to recap:
Military units file after-action reports. They count expended weaponry. There is no way on earth that the IRGC did not know what brought the plane down. Period. I suppose there's a remote possibility that the local air defense command didn't tell the higher ups, but there's sure as hell no way nobody asked.