YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. Iran’s air defense system misidentified the Ukrainian plane as a cruise missile, Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Amirali Hajizadeh said today at a briefing, RIA Novosti reported.

He added that the operator lost connection with the commander and had 10 seconds to make a decision.

Amirali Hajizadeh said that the IRGC has taken responsibility for the Ukrainian plane crash, adding that they are ready to follow any orders given by the authorities.

Hajizadeh added that "the statement was delayed not because someone wanted to keep back (the reason of the crash)." "The General Staff had to conduct an investigation," he explained, as reported by TASS.

On January 8, a plane operated by Ukraine International Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. According to the data provided by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Pristaiko, 176 people were killed in the crash. They were citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK.

Iran announced today that it shot down the Ukrainian jet unintentionally.