Iranian soldiers work at the crash site of a Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737 passenger plane in Parand district, southern Tehran. Iran, on Jan. 8, 2020. Photo:Xinhua

A possible disruption in Iran's radar network by the US electronic interference may have caused the operator to mistake the Ukrainian passenger plan for an incoming American cruise missile.

Ali Abdollahi, deputy commander of Iran's Armed Forces General Headquarters, made the remarks on Wednesday, adding that a team has been established to investigate such a possibility, according to Tehran Times daily.

The Ukrainian passenger plane was shot down on Jan. 8 in Tehran's airspace with 176 people onboard killed.

The Iranian Armed Forces announced that the plane had been mistaken for a cruise missile due to "human error."

Abdollahi said the operator who fired missile at the plane had difficulty in receiving the message of the command center.