U.S. to join probe of jet disaster, no missile link -Iran official

Iran has formally invited the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board to take part in its investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian jetliner and the U.S. agency has agreed to assign an investigator, an Iranian official said on Thursday. "The NTSB has replied to our chief investigator and has announced an accredited representative," Farhad Parvaresh, Iran's representative at the International Civil Aviation Organization, part of the United Nations, told Reuters.

The NTSB declined comment. A person briefed on the matter confirmed the NTSB had agreed to take part but said it was unclear what if anything its representative would be able to do under U.S. sanctions. Parvaresh said other countries including Ukraine and Canada had also been notified. He denied U.S. and Canadian claims that the jet had been shot down and said Iran was committed to a full and transparent investigation for the accident, which he described as a "tragedy and disaster" for everyone involved.