TEHRAN — Transportation Minister Mohammad Eslami has said that Iran and Ukraine are jointly investigating the black box of the downed Ukrainian plane in Iran.

In remarks on Saturday, Eslami said the Aircraft Accident Investigating Board is investigating the incident according to standards of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Mehr reported.

On January 22, Eslami said the black box of the downed plane would not be transferred abroad.

“If the examination team cannot decipher the data, another decision will be made,” Eslami told reporters after a cabinet session.

Eslami, who had traveled to Ukraine earlier as President Rouhani’s special representative, also said he conveyed the condolences of the president to the Ukrainian government and nation during his trip.

The Ukrainian passenger plane, with 176 people aboard, was mistakenly downed on January 8 near Tehran by the air defense system.

The victims of the crash included 82 Iranians, 63 Iranian-Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three British nationals.

The Iranian military announced on January 11 morning that the plane had been mistaken for a cruise missile. The incident took place on January 8, nearly four hours after Iran fired missiles at a major U.S. airbase in retaliation for the assassination of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. The military had been put on high alert due to the situation.

In a statement last month, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi said Iran “has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations.”

MH/PA