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Friday, Feb 20, 2026

New Analysis of Ukrainian Airliner’s Black Box: Iran’s Regime Should Be Held To Account for Its Crime

New Analysis of Ukrainian Airliner’s Black Box: Iran’s Regime Should Be Held To Account for Its Crime

Analysis from the black box of a Ukrainian passenger jet, downed by the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in January, shows it was hit by two missiles 25 seconds apart.

This means passengers were still alive after the first missile and could have been saved. This revelation once again highlights the importance of holding the regime’s authorities, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, to account for this crime against humanity.

In this regard, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said: Imagine what the innocent passengers of that aircraft went through in those 19 seconds. Once again, I reiterate the need for an international tribunal to bring to justice Ali Khamenei, Hassan Rouhani and IRGC commanders. The IRGC is the enemy of the people of Iran. Disbanding the IRGC is the demand of the Iranian nation.


The analysis from the black box of the downed airliner sparked wide reactions by the Iranian people on social media. Many users asked this question: Why did you fire the second missile which was the main reason for the plane’s downfall?

The Iranian regime’s campaign of deception

The Ukrainian airliner was shot down on January 8 by the IRGC anti-aircraft system. Yet, all of the regime’s top officials, such as regime’s President Hassan Rouhani and regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other government officials, one after another denied the airliner was shot down and said it was a “technical incident.” After three days of consecutive denial and following the leaking of some information the regime was forced to acknowledge the IRGC had shot down the airplane. Rouhani blatantly claimed he was informed on January 11. But IRGC Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the IRGC aerospace commander, while calling this tragic incident a “human error,” said he had informed all the regime’s top officials – including Rouhani and Khamenei – immediately after the incident.

Further information also proved that all the regime’s top officials were aware of this crime:

*  The Ukrainian television channel, TSN, broadcast an audio file of the conversation between the co-pilot on Aseman Airlines flight 3768, during its landing approach at Tehran’s airport, and the control tower that shows immediate notification of the missile strike on the Ukrainian airliner. The conversation was simultaneous with the departure of the Ukrainian International Airline flight 752. During the conversation, the co-pilot reports the firing of two missiles and a huge explosion in the sky to the control tower. Recognizing that the issue was related to flight 752, the control tower tries to contact the pilots nine times, but to no avail.

*  The state-run newspaper, Jahan-e Sanat wrote on February 4: “Simultaneous with the warnings given by the Aseman Airlines pilot, a Qatar Airways plane flying near the site of the incident had a similar exchange with the control tower.” The daily added that Abolfazl Mousavi, a member of the Parliament’s Committee on Development, had told the paper, “In reports given to the Committee on Development, an exchange similar to what was in the disclosed audio file had been reported by a Qatar Airways crew.”

The nationwide and major Iran protests in November shook the regime’s foundations. After killing over 1500 peaceful protesters, the Iranian regime was aware that the restive Iranian society would once again revolt. When the IRGC shot down the Ukrainian airliner, fearing this crime could spark a new series of protests, the regime’s officials first denied their role. When, finally, the mullahs’ regime was forced to admit to committing this crime, people poured onto the streets across Iran with students at their forefront. They called for regime change and identified the regime as the real cause of all the problems inside Iran.

Now, the new analysis of the Ukrainian airliner’s black box confirms the regime’s authorities deliberately concealed the truth and all were involved in this crime. Therefore, as Mrs. Rajavi said, the international community should hold them to account for this crime.

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