On the anniversary of a crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane in Iran, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the US adventurism in the region led to the tragic incident, pledging a harsh revenge against enemies.�

In a statement on Wednesday, the IRGC remembered the Iranians who were killed onboard a Ukrainian plane that was mistakenly shot down in Iran�s airspace in January 2020 shortly after the aircraft�s takeoff en route to Kiev.

It said the crash of the Ukrainian passenger plane, which occurred after the US adventurism and its terrorist crime of assassinating Iran�s top anti-terror commander and the subsequent IRGC missile strike on the terrorists� Ain al-Assad base in Iraq, had left the Iranian nation completely bereft.

�The heavy burden of parting with the dear children of Iran is very hard and poignant, and this is a bitter incident that took place in the wake of the US� inhumane acts of adventurism and terrorist acts in the region,� the statement said, adding, �It once again proved the zenith of malice and spite of global arrogance against the Islamic Republic and the people of Iran.�

While sympathizing with bereaved families of the victims, and emphasizing on using the reports of specialized committees to prevent occurrence of similar accidents, the IRGC pledged a �harsh revenge� against �hostilities and conspiracies of the global arrogance.�

The Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, en route to Kiev and carrying mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians, crashed minutes after takeoff near capital Tehran, killing all the 176�on board.

Iranian authorities say the Ukrainian airliner had been mistaken with a cruise missile when it was shot down southwest of Tehran.

The incident happened at a time when the Islamic Republic�s air defense systems were at the highest possible level of alert following the United States� earlier assassination of prominent Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in neighboring Iraq.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani asserted on Wednesday that all those�culpable of dereliction of duty in last year�s mistaken downing of the Ukrainian airliner�have to face trial.

�We said [this] from day one that all those responsible for the incident should be tried justly at a court,� Rouhani said, addressing a government meeting in Tehran.

�Today too, we [still] lay emphasis [on the same imperative] and the Judiciary will surely make this happen,� he added.