The scene of a Ukrainian passenger plane crashed near Tehran, Iran, January 8, 2020. (Photo: THX /VNA )

Hassan Rezaeefar, the director of Incident Investigation of Iran's Aviation Organization said that the black box cannot be read in Iran, and following the request of the Ukrainians, it will be sent to Ukraine. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned of any attempt to politicize the crash, saying focus should be on victim families.

On Jan 8, a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 passenger plane crashed near Tehran, and all of the 176 people on board were killed.  Iran admits that its military mistook the Ukrainian plane for a cruise missile. The incident occurred amid rising US-Iran tensions.