Iran has admitted shooting down a Ukrainian Airlines plane and killing 176 people.

But the country insists the jet was brought down "unintentionally" due to human error.

The admission came on via Iranian state television, citing a statement from the country's military.

The regime claimed the plane had flown close to a sensitive military site belonging to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.

The country's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, admitted on Twitter: "A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster.

"Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations."

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The Iranian government has admitted the Ukrainian Airlines plane crash was due to 'human error' (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

It follows days of speculation about how the aircraft came to crash - on the same night as Iran was firing rockets at US military bases across the border in Iraq.

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This was being done in revenge for America's assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a drone strike several days earlier.

Iran said those responsible for shooting down the Ukrainian Airlines jet would be referred to a judicial department within the military and held accountable.

US officials had earlier said the aircraft was brought down by an Iranian missile, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the incident may have been unintentional.

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The wreckage of the plane landed just outside the capital of Tehran (Image: via REUTERS)

All 176 people on board the plane were killed when it crashed minutes after leaving Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran at 6.10am local time (2.40am GMT) on Wednesday, bound for the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed four British nationals were killed in the incident.

He said: "Four British nationals were among those who were killed, and we are providing support to their families at this most terrible time.

"There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional.

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Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a candle light vigil for the victims in Ottawa (Image: REUTERS)

"We are working closely with Canada and our international partners and there now needs to be a full, transparent investigation."

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Footage of the horrifying moment emerged yesterday showing a missile smash into the Ukranian jet. 

In the clip, which was shot at night, a missile appears to launch from the ground and hit the plane causing a flash of light.

The aircraft then begins falling to the ground but does not explode immediately.

Several sources claim to have verified the video. The New York Times tweeted that they analysed the clip and confirmed it was filmed near the plane's flight path from Tehran.

• Iran
• Iran Crisis
• Plane crash