Iran refuses to pay damages for bringing down Boeing 737

The Iranian government is not willing to pay damages to Ukraine International Airlines for the bringing down of one of its Boeing 737-800s. The aircraft was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile shortly after departure from Tehran on January 8.

According to Reuters, Iran says the Ukrainian airline should turn to its own insurers to get compensation for loss of the four-year-old Boeing 737-800. The Ukrainian government is currently still negotiating the amount of compensation that relatives of the crash victims will receive. This negotitiation is irrespective of the discussion about compensation for the aircraft itself.

All 176 passengers and crew were killed in the disaster, described by Iran as a tragic incident. At first, the country claimed that the aircraft crashed because of technical issues, but it soon became clear that it had been shot down by an Iranian missile.