Dual citizens killed in the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet earlier this month near Tehran, Iran will be treated as Iranian citizens, the country’s foreign ministry announced on Monday.
In a televised weekly news conference, Abbas Mousavi, a spokesman for Iran‘s foreign ministry, said the country considers dual nationals killed in the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 earlier this month Iranian citizens, adding that the country is “mourning their deaths.”
“We have informed Canada that Tehran considers dual nationals who were killed in the plane crash as Iranian citizens,” Mousavi said.
Iran does not recognize dual nationality. While it is possible for an individual to hold both Iranian citizenship and a second citizenship, Iran only recognizes them as Iranian.
A total of 176 people were killed — including 57 Canadians — when Iran’s Revolutionary Guard used surface-to-air missiles to down the plane minutes after it took off.
Iran admitted responsibility for the incident but said it was “unintentional” and caused by “human error.”
Global News reached out to Global Affairs Canada for comment on Monday’s announcement from Iran but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne last Wednesday dismissed the Iranian position on dual nationality as “nonsense.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, Canada’s Transport Minister Marc Garneau said a “Canadian is a Canadian.”
“So our view, the 57 Canadians that lost their life tragically are Canadian citizens, and they are entitled to all the rights that Canadian citizens have,” he said. “And we will do our utmost to make sure that those rights are afforded to them.”
Speaking to media on Sunday, Champagne said all of the next of kin of the Canadians killed in the crash have been notified and that their wishes are “paramount.”
Champagne said in some cases, burials are taking place while in others, repatriation is taking place.
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