Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Iran's accidental
shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner last week occurred at a time when Tehran was spooked by reports of advanced U.S. stealth fighters in the area.
Iran's downing of
Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, which killed all 176 people aboard, has created a crisis for the Islamic Republic's clerical rulers who have faced days of
protests after the Iranian military admitted it had shot down the plane accidentally.
Lavrov, speaking at his annual news conference in
Moscow, called the incident a human error and said he was not trying to excuse anyone for what happened.