Iran has committed numerous human rights abuses, shooting down the Ukrainian plane and following a deadly attack, according to the UN entity on human rights report.

According to UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard, inconsistencies in the official explanation seem to be designed to create maximum confusion and minimum clarity. They seem to be deliberately misleading and bewildering, she added.

"The mistakes indicate a reckless, if not criminal, disregard for standards procedures and the principles of precaution which should have been implemented to the fullest given the circumstances and the location of the Unit (in the middle of civilian objects), whether under international human rights or humanitarian law," she noted. "The initial denial of the circumstances of the crash by the Government deepened the impacts of the tragedy on affected family and friends, as did the failure to protect the crash site and passengers’ property from looting which deprived family members of mementos of significant sentimental value."

The Ukrainian plane crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran airport on January 8, 2020, early in the morning. A total of 176 people were killed: citizens of Iran, Ukraine, Canada, the UK, Germany, Sweden, and Afghanistan. 

The Iranian military later said that the Ukrainian Boeing was shot down by accident, the human factor was to blame: the plane flew near the Iranian military facility and was mistaken for an enemy target, namely a cruise missile. Iran also noted that they were expecting an attack from the United States.