Iran announces arrests over downing of Ukrainian plane that killed 176 people

Dubai, Jan 14: Iran's judiciary says arrests have been made over the shootdown of a Ukrainian plane that killed all 176 people on board.

"Extensive investigations have taken place and some individuals are arrested," the judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Esmaili, said on Tuesday.

was quoted by Iranian state media, but did not say how many individuals have been detained or name them.

Ukrainian experts had gained access to the black box flight recorders of the Ukrainian plane that crashed in Iran, Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Friday.

Kiev sent around 50 experts to Iran to participate in the probe after Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 went down near Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board. "Our team has now got access to the black boxes," Prystaiko told a briefing.

American, British and Canadian officials say intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down the plane, perhaps unintentionally, but this has been denied by Tehran. Zelensky said on Facebook that the possibility the plane had been shot down by a missile was not ruled out "but it has not yet been confirmed".