Iran Air Force denies air show plane crash

The Iranian Air Force has denied earlier reports that a plane crashed in southern Tehran was connected with Tuesday’ aerial maneuver.

“The crash of the plane during training in Qarchak [south of Tehran Province] had no links with the aerial maneuver,” the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) said in a short statement on Tuesday, without giving further details.

Earlier reports said that an Iranian warplane had crashed in Qarchak during an aerial maneuver carried out to celebrate the national Sacred Defense Week.

At least seven people aboard the plane died in the crash. Emergency services say they are cleaning up the area to see if there have been any more casualties.

Iranian armed forces began weeklong parade on Tuesday to commemorate eight years of defense against the war waged by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on Iran in the 1980s.