Iran's admission it shot down airliner is 'important first step', says Boris Johnson – live news

Tehran says its military unintentionally shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, killing all 176 people onboard

• Full report: Iran admits shooting down Ukrainian airliner 'unintentionally'
• Plane crash admission triggers international calls for full investigation

6.00pm GMT

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promised further investigation into the downing of an Ukrainian passenger plane during a phone conversation with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday, state news agency IRNA reported.

"Iran welcomes any international cooperation in the framework of international regulations to shed more light on the incident," Rouhani said, promising further investigation into the crash that Tehran said was caused by its air defences "unintentionally".

5.19pm GMT

In related news, German chancellor Angela Merkel repeated a call for all parties to respect the Iranian nuclear accord, despite Iran's decision to intensify its enrichment of uranium and moves by the United States to impose economic sanctions, PA reports.

Under a deal brokered in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed with China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, to restrict its nuclear program.

"We agreed that we should do anything to preserve the deal, the JCPOA. Germany is convinced that Iran should not acquire or have nuclear weapons," Merkel said during a joint press conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday.

"For this reason we will continue to employ all diplomatic means to keep this agreement alive, which is certainly not perfect but it is an agreement and it comprises commitments by all sides."