Tasnim � Iran�s Foreign Ministry formed a task force on consular affairs pertaining to the victims of a Ukrainian plane that crashed in Iran on January 8.

In a statement on Saturday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Abbas Mousavi expressed deep regret for the deaths of 176 passengers and flight crew on board the plane that was travelling from Tehran to Kiev, and sympathized with the families of the tragic incident�s victims.

�Under emphatic orders from the honorable President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and following the honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs� emphasis on immediate handling of the consular affairs relating to the victims, a special task force has been formed in the (Foreign) Ministry�s Parliamentary and Iranians� Affairs Department, tasked with dealing with requests from the families of victims and providing the necessary services,� the spokesman said.

�Moreover, the necessary orders have been given to all political and consular missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the domestic and airport offices to handle the requests relating to this matter extraordinarily,� Mousavi noted.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has great sympathy for families of all victims of the plane crash, who were mainly young educated and elite university students and professors, the spokesman stressed, hoping that such services would help relieve the great grief over the disaster, according to the Foreign Ministry�s website.

In a statement on Saturday, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces said the country�s air defense has unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane on January 8 amid the highest level of readiness because of a possible military attack by the US.