Iran agrees to compensate downed plane victims' families, Sweden says

Iran agrees to compensate downed plane victims' families, Sweden says
Sweden said Iran has agreed to compensate the families of foreign victims of a Ukrainian passenger plane that was shot down in January.
2 min read
The Ukranian aircraft was shot down in January, killing all 176 people on board [Getty]

Sweden said Thursday that Iran had agreed to compensate the families of the foreign victims of a Ukrainian passenger plane that was shot down outside Tehran in January.

The Boeing 737 aircraft was struck by two missiles and crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran airport on January 8, killing all 176 people on board.

The Islamic republic admitted days later that its forces accidentally shot down the Kiev-bound jetliner.

"We have signed an agreement of mutual understanding that we will now negotiate with Iran about amends, compensation to the victims' next of kin," Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde told news agency TT, in a statement confirmed by her press secretary to AFP.

Linde said the agreement had been reached after negotiations with Iran and the countries with citizens among the victims. 

While it was still unclear what sums would be paid out, Linde said there was "no doubt" that Iran would follow through on the compensation.

Among the victims, many were Iranian-Canadians, but there were also victims from Sweden, Britain, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, including the nine crew members.

Last month, Iran sent the black box flight recorder from the downed plane to France for further analysis following months of delays.

The IRNA news agency quoted Tehran military prosecutor Gholamabbas Torki as saying that the recorder was "physically damaged" and that the data could only be recovered with "sophisticated" technology.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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