Iran police disperse student air crash tribute: news agency

Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans Saturday during a gathering in Tehran to honor the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down, Fars news agency reported. AFP correspondents said hundreds of students had gathered early in the evening at Amir Kabir University, in downtown Tehran, to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster.

The tribute later turned into an angry demonstration. The students chanted slogans denouncing "liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible for downing the plane and allegedly covering up the accidental action.

Iran said on Saturday that the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was "unintentionally" shot down on Wednesday shortly after taking off from Tehran's main airport. All 176 people on board died, mostly Iranians and Canadians and including many students.

Fars, which is close to conservatives, said the students chanted "destructive" and "radical" slogans. The news agency said some of the students tore down a poster of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed on January 3 in a US drone strike on Baghdad.

Fars published pictures of demonstrators gathered around a ring of candles during the tribute. It said that police "dispersed" them as they left the university and blocked the streets, causing a traffic jam.

Iran's acknowledgment on Saturday that the plane had been shot down in error came after officials had for days categorically denied Western claims that it had been struck by a missile. The aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility.

But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, shooting down the Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a "cruise missile".