Flight PS752 was struck by an Iranian missile shortly after taking off from Tehran airport on January 8. Iran had previously denied any involvement in the shooting of the Boeing 737-800 which was en-route to the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Three days after the disaster, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s air force, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, appeared on state TV to take responsibility for the incident.
The Revolutionary Guards claimed it had mistaken the aircraft for a US cruise missile, after launching rockets at US troops in Iraqi bases.
A military statement said the plane flew close to a sensitive Revolutionary Guards site at a time of high alert.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said the justice system would “investigate the causes and direct impact of the incident”.
Mr Esmaili told a news conference in the Iranian capital: “We will investigate the extent to which US warmongering caused this event.
“Several people have been detained and the investigation continues.”
President Hassan Rouhani promised a thorough investigation into the “unforgivable error”.
In a televised speech, Mr Rouhani said the judiciary would assemble a special court to oversee the case.
He said: “This will not be a regular and usual case. The whole world will be watching this court.”
The Iranian leader insisted this type of incident will not happen again.
He added: “It’s not only the person who pulled the trigger, but also others who are responsible.
“Iranian armed forces admitting their mistake is a good first step.
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“I was in Oman just at the weekend, talking to people in the region, and they don’t want a military conflict between the West and Iran.”
Iran’s military had been on high alert following increased tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Prior to the shooing down of the passenger liner, Iran had retaliated to the killing of General Qassem Soleimani by launching a series of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops in Iraq.
Iranian state television said Iran had fired 15 missiles at the Ain al-Asad airbase located around 100 miles from the Iraqi capital, there was no casualties reported.