Washington, Jan 12 (AFP) Iran's accidental downing of a passenger plane that killed 176 people was an "awful mistake," a US official said Saturday.

"This was a terrible tragedy," the senior administration official said, adding that "ultimately, Iran made an awful mistake."

The comments come after Iran reversed course and admitted that the Ukrainian plane, which slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday, had been downed by a surface-to-air missile. (AFP)

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