Iran, Saying It Would Send Black Boxes to Ukraine... Reversed Decision in a Day

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] International controversy is arising as the Iranian government reversed its decision just one day after announcing it would send the black box, known as a crucial clue in the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane, to Ukraine. The Iranian authorities initially denied the shooting down, then reversed their stance three days later to admit the incident, and now by retracting the plan to export the black box, their international credibility is declining. It is also reported that the number of airlines attempting to avoid flying over Iranian airspace is gradually increasing.

According to foreign media including the Associated Press (AP), on the 19th (local time), Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Hassan Rezaeipour, the head of accident investigation at Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, who completely denied earlier reports that the black box would be sent to Ukraine. Rezaeipour said, "No decision has been made so far to send the black box to another country," and added, "We are making efforts to analyze the black box here in Iran."

The previous day, local Iranian media Tasnim News reported that Rezaeipour had said the black box would be sent to Ukraine. This means the Iranian government reversed its position within a day. The exact reason for the Iranian government’s reversal has not been revealed, but it is presumed that they are hesitant to release the black box and other recording devices due to concerns that more detailed information related to the passenger plane’s downing might be disclosed.

Earlier, on the 8th, a Ukraine International Airlines passenger plane that took off from Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran, Iran, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired mistakenly by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, killing all 176 people on board. The Iranian government initially announced on the day of the incident that the crash was due to a mechanical failure of the aircraft itself and denied the possibility of being shot down, but admitted the shooting down three days later.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.