by mistake a. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell. iran initially denied having shot down that plane, but leaders now say that missile fired by mistake brought down a ukranian passenger jet on wednesday, that plane with 176 people who were on board. >> the united states, canada and other countries had already reached that conclusion. the plane crashed just a few hours after iran launched missiles at military bases in iraq housing u.s. troops. also dramatic new video to show you, video of the moment that passenger plane hit the ground. we warn you, this video is graphic. you will find it disturbing for sure. >> it was shot from a surveillance camera on a building not far from tehran's international airport. you can see the impact there. and what happened afterward. the bright light from the fire as the plane gets closer, and

the plane hits the ground and explodes. the flaming debris, hundreds of pieces of the plane strewn across the area. >> and cnn is covering this major development throughout the region. fred pleitgen is live in tehran with more on what the iranian government is saying. scott mclean is live in kiev where there are calls for justice. >> and ben wedeman is in beirut with a look at the new sanctions iran faces. and sam kiley in baghdad for us where the u.s. faces demands to withdraw its troops following the killing of qassem soleimani. let's start in tehran with fred pleitg pleitgen. now that iran has had mitted what happened, the question is why and how this mistake was made. >> reporter: you're right. and i think that is something that the nation is grappling with. iranians are saying that they will have a full investigation into all of this, they say that they will hold the folks who

were culpable for this, that they will hold them accountable. iranian military is talking about a military judicial system and iranians are saying that they are going to review their procedures and everything around their air defenses to make sure that something like this does not happen again. news that we just got, some information coming from iran supreme leaders office. explaining why we're learning of this now and the circumstances around it. and i'm sort evof paraphrasing. he says about the air defense system, the supreme leader issued an urgent order yesterday on friday to urgently convene a national security meeting and the supreme leader apparently said that the principal of the incident and the results of its investigations will be told to the people honestly and frankly. apparently that is something that he said national security council of iran meeting yesterday and that is probably why we're learning about this

incident in the early morning hours of today. apparently there was another meeting that took place probably where they were deciding how and when to tell the iranian population, the world public also, about what happened. but you're right, the iranians looking into this incident now, wanting to know exactly the circumstances of how it happened. they have already given some details as to what exactly happened. they said that there was radar detections that they were getting after their own strike on bases in the middle east or in the iraq housing u.s. troops. they said that they saw u.s. planes flying near their borders near sensitive military installations so they themselves were on high alert. and they say that the ukranian airlines plane took off and at that point was near revolutionary guard base, they said that the altitude of the plane, the direction of the plane, led the surface to air missile crew to believe that it was a threat and therefore it was shot down in error.

obviously as we said the iranians saying that it was a catastrophic iran and an unjustifiable mistake. so there is certainly right now it seems as though a search going on for why this could happen. a call to say that there must be justice for what happened. and obviously apologies being issued by the iranian government, by the foreign minister. and by the president as well. both to the iranian public because a lot of the people who were on board were you will iranian our dual citizens. and then of course to the relatives and loved ones of those who perished in all the nations from where victims of the crash came from. >> and also i want to ask you, fred, considering there was heightened tension and they just talked in iraq and perhaps worried about the u.s. doing something, why were they letting commercial airliners take off? >> presumably that is also going to be part of what they are

going to look into if they are going to talk about their procedures and see how they could refine those procedures to make sure that something like that doesn't happen again. that probably wouldn't only engulf the military looking at its own procedures, but also thinking about what happens if there is another national emergency, can you really keep the country's air space open especially if you are thinking that there might be air strikes on your installations and your military is on high alert. it really is unclear why the air space wasn't closed off. if you look at the air traffic that was coming through those areas since those strikes took place, there were quite a few planes taking off. and i think that we looked at some of the data and it was about eight flights that took off, at least six of those flights took a very, very similar flight path. i've been on that flight path a bunch of times flying out of that airport. so that was clearly a dangerous situation with those planes flying over those military installations while the folks on the ground there were on high

alert. so that most probably will be a situation that is going to have to be looked at. on the other hand though, the iranians have been claiming that the air defense systems are highly accurate, and highly efficient. they shot down as you know an american drone in the middle of last year and there they said that they were able to pick that drone out in the midst of massive air traffic that was down in that area in the persian gulf and they discovered a second american plane that they didn't shoot down because they knew what amount of crew was on that plane. so iranians have been saying that the air defense systems are very, very efficient and very accurate. obviously now they are saying that in this i guess you could call it fog of war, in this situation, they clearly mistook this aircraft that they shot down for a threat and military aircraft and it is certainly something where they are going to they say have a large investigation into this. >> absolutely. and you know, so many thoughts are with the people and the families that are grieving right

now. fred pleitgen for us, thanks. now over to george. >> and now live in ukraine, scott mclean is on the story. and what reaction are you hearing there from officials? >> reporter: hey, george. the ukranian president zelensky put out a statement this morning after the news broke, he said this morning was not a good one, but it brought the truth. this frank li shouly should not a massive surprise. yesterday the foreign minister said they had gotten information from the u.s. and uk that they said was very solid indicating that there may have been a missile strike. but you ukraine was in a bit of a delicate situation having to balance the fact that the iranians were strongly denying that that was even possible. they even called it fraudulent. and the fact that they had 45 of their own investigators on the ground. not obviously keen to jump to conclusions given that they are

wanting to carry out a full investigation. he also went on to say that iran really owes a full apology, an official apology through diplomatic channels, and payment of compensation. he also insisted being quite direct, no longer being choosy or delicate with his words, but insisting that the 45 investigators get full access, quicker access, to the investigation, to the site. there were some questions earlier about how much involvement they had. yesterday the foreign minister said that in any investigation, investigators want to have more access, quicker access, whether that was valid though he said was hard to tell. now it is a much different tune insisting not only on that, but also on compensation. there is a press conference that will be held by the airline in about two hours from now, we'll be headed there right after this, and there will certainly be questions about what fred touched on, which is why exactly this flight was allowed to take

off in the first place. the airline held a press conference wednesday after the news broke, but they have said little, they have the not returned calls since then. at the time when asked about that, they said if they had any returned calls since then. at the time when asked about that, they said if they had any hint of dangerer, the plane would not have taken off. they said that they had reviewed the flight path and was in the normal path of commercial flights so no way that this plane should have been targeted for anything. but i think still a valid point to be made about why given the heightened tensions between iran and the u.s. and especially the fact that iran had fired missiles at u.s. targets just hours earlier, why there wasn't more precautions or why flights were taking off at all. >> given how important that airport is there irn iran, yes, that is a major question for

sure. scott, thank you. and let's talk more about these questions. joining me now, jeffrey thomas, editor in chief and managing director at airline ratings.com. i want to start with the question that our reporter just asked. jeffrey, why would a commercial airliner be operating during this time. >> that is a very good question. and right to the point here, one hour earlier than this tragic shootdown, turkish airlines flight tk 873 took off from the same airport en route to istanbul and it took exactly the same flight path as the ukranian plane. now, there are other aircraft as well that took off. iran aircraft, and a qatari took off as well.

and so planes were taking off up to an hour, an hour and a half before this ukrainian aircraft took off. so clearly the authorities thought that it was safe and all these planes took off safely. all of a sudden this ukraine aircraft takes off, exactly what the other aircraft had done, but it gets shot down. so, you know, to sort of say it was an accident doesn't really ring true because other aircraft had been operating in exactly the same manner as this aircraft had in the previous hour. >> and issuing a statement that perhaps the trans ponders would have been off if it was a military plane that they had been confused with. so that doesn't make sense. and they said that their air defense is systems are very accurate, so, yes, questions about how this would happen.

>> and the transponder was on because flight radar 24 picked it up. and was tracking it until it was blown out of the sky at 8,000 feet. so if they are suggesting that the transponder was turned off on this aircraft, again, that is wrong as well. >> i mis-130. wh if it was an incoming military plane, that would mean that their transponders were turned off. >> if it was a threat, it would be below radar. sonde it doesn't ring true no matter which way you slice and dice it. >> so they finally have come clean and said yes, this is what happened. so that is something else that

they will have to deal with. what do you think as far as in situations like this, is it typical that commercial airliners are -- well, that countries stop their commercial flig flights. >> that is a very good point. it seems almost bizarre that any airplane was allowed to take off after that mission still strike on the iraqi bases because one would naturally assume that you would have incoming missiles targeting iranian defense installations which are around tie ran airport. so why the authorities alleged airport to fly is perplexing. it doesn't -- again, it doesn't ring correctly. and then the other thing about this is that the faa and the united states has banned u.s. airlines from flying over iraqi

and iranian air space. and one would presume other countries would follow suit. but in actual fact they haven't. there are a lot of airplanes flying over iraqi air space right now and there is a lot of airplanes flying over iranian air space right now. so it really is perplexing how airlines deal with these issues and how authorities are dealing with these issues because there is obviously a clear and present danger to passengers. >> yeah, certainly is temperature thanks for bri than for bringing that up. questions that we continue to explore. thanks so much, jeffrey thomas. always appreciate your insights. and this crash happened amid broader tensions in the region between the u.s. and iran. the united states now applying new sanctions on iran after a missile attack on the u.s. and allied bases in iraq. we'll have details on that after the break. dance-offs...re more travels... or more touchdowns.

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iran's own forces blames increased radar activity and fear of u.s. aggression for the mistake. >> the nation's foreign minister zarif offered his apologiesdole caused by u.s. adventure riism. the crash tikilled 176 on that flight. let's go live to sam kiley in baghdad. baghdad really caught in the middle. iraq was certainly the middle ground between these tensions between the u.s. and iran. there was of course the targeted killing of qassem soleimani. the iranian response that followed. and then the downing of this plane. we now know that iran no longer denying that it shot down the plane by mistake, but how does that fit within the broader context here. >> reporter: well, i think that

it is a stain on the reputation of the iranian revolutionary guard corps in terms of its international standing, in terms of its reputation for professionalism albeit certainly through the qods force that general sole soleimani commanded which was dedicated to regional destabilization. but in that context, george, just yesterday, demonstrators were out on the streets of baghdad in considerable numbers, several thousand, once again protesting against the foreign influence on their country both from the united states and from iran. and that at a time when iranian backed militias here are continuing to say that the united states must withdraw its troops from iraqi territory or face violent consequences. now, that is officially the position of iran's parliament and indeed of its prime minister who said recently after a phone call with mike pompeo the u.s.

secretary of state that he wanted the united states to begin negotiations to do just that. mr. pompeo has said that that isn't exactly how he would characterize the phone call, but this is a turning point for the iraqi/u.s. relationship, arguably also down the line perhaps for the iranian relationship will too with iraq. but in the first instance, the issue here is going to be over the next couple of weeks what is the future status of american troops here in iraq. and remember, george, they are here at the invitation of the iraqi government to help with their campaign against the so-called islamic state, an organism which while it no longer controls any land, most certainly is still alive and kicking and killing here in iraq. >> and there are many throughout that country that certainly rely on that u.s. presence begin that isis does seem to be resurging. sam kiley live for us in

baghdad, thank you for the reporting. despite tensions continuing to simmer between iran and the u.s., on friday the trump administration announced new economic sanctions against iran. it comes after the country attacked u.s. troops earlier this week. for more on this angle, ben wedeman is joining me now live from beirut. and ben, the u.s. sanctioning iran yet again. what do you expect and what could be the impact against the country? >> reporter: it is hard to say what is going to be impacted because most analysts believe that iran is essentially sanctioned-out by the united states under its policy under the trump administration of maximum pressure. now, according to this latest -- these latest sanctions announced by the united states, they include the met lurmetallurgicad

eight senior officials. but hard to say how this is really going to make a difference to the iranian economy given that everything else is sanctioned. what we've seen since the united states under the trump administration began to pull out of the nuclear deal is the reism position of evermore draconian sanctions with little to show in terms of the iranian flexibility. >> and let's talk about a new story that has broken, that is the death of the sultan of oman. he was so important in the region and dealing with iran. >> reporter: yes, the sultan had been in power in oman since 1970, he passed away overnight. his funeral is already taking

place. he was a plan who was -- led a country that was an intermediary very much low key. for instance, it was thanks to om om om omani mediation that in 2013 talks began that eventually led to the iran nuclear deal. of course which is now in shambles. but they repeatedly under this sultan used very low key diplomacy to resolve a variety of crises when american and british military personnel were taken prisoner by iran. the omanis intervened to win their freedom. and in addition to the iran deal and other crises around the region, the policy was for oman to be the friend to all, enemy to none. and with his passing, we shall see his success or does have a

background in diplomacy. hopefully they can continue this policy of mediation around the middle east, a policy that is desperately needed i might add at the moment. natalie. >> absolutely. all right, thanks so much, ben wedeman for us in beirut. let's talk more now with a professor of international relations at the london school of economics. and also author of "making the arab world." joining us from our london bureau. good to have you with us. >> thanks. >> let's start by getting a sense of what is happening here. iran he iran's denial and then an about-face. seems to be a fulsome apology. but why in your yview did they deny it from the start? >> i think that it tells you a great deal, that if evidence had not really emerged, i think the

lead leadership would have is still maintained that it was accidental. and i think that iran has done a great deal of damage to basically the question of trust at home and also its reputation overseas. the belated acknowledgement of its responsibility for downing of the plane raises serious questions, alarming questions, george. why didn't iran shut down its international airport and its air space hours after it had fired dozens of missiles against u.s. military bases in iraq. it clearly shows the lack of command and control in the armed forces, the lack of coordination. in fact the garrison that shot the plane obviously did not coordinate with the various units, armed units about and it is a systemic failure.

and its belated acknowledgement will likely stoke anger inside iran. anger about the lack of incompeten incompetence, about accountability and about trust. and finally, we have to mention, george, that what happened, the tragic downing of the ukranian plane, is also a result of the unintended consequences of president trump's preemptive action. the killing of general soleimani, assassination of general soleimani, set off a train of tragic events that led to the downing and killing of more than 170 civilians in the iranian air space. >> this plane crash, the indirect result again of the tensions that are playing out between the united states and iran, at the same time, we're seeing the blame game. we're seeing iran describe this

as the result of u.s. adventurism, the u.s. also casting blame toward iran. where do you see the broader conflict going from this flashpoint? >> my take on it is that the clash between iran and its allies and the united states and its allies is far from over. even though the region has escaped, i mean, fortunately a wider conflict in the past few days, i think both sides, the united states and iran, remain set on a collision course. i see it now really changing from a direct confrontation between iran and the united states into a war of attrition. iran and its allies will likely target american interests throughout the middle east. and i think iraq and syria are the major -- and yemen are the major theater. my overall take is that

america's military footprint in iraq has become untenable. you will see a facing out of the american military presence in iraq in the next few weeks, even though the trump administration is burying its head in the sand. and denying and opposing and refusing to basically accept the iraqi request to begin the process of pulling american forces in iraq. i think that you will see in the next few weeks america bringing home most of the troops, the 5,000 and 2,000 american soldiers in iraq, even though a contingent of american forces and international coalition will likely remain in the country for the sole purpose of the fight against isis. >> thank you for your perspective. and more on our breaking news, iran admitting that it mistakenly shot down that ukranian passenger plane. we're live in tehran after this. r digestive system

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we continue to follow news that the iranian government has had mitt that hadmitted that it the ukranian plane unintentionally. >> and this is after iran initially denied that it shot down the plane. >> and fred pleitgen is live this hour this tehran. he has been monitoring this story for a good time now. so fred, iran finally admits what happened, but that came with caveats. for one, it blames increased radar activity and fear of u.s.

aggressi aggression. >> you're right, they are saying that it happen in the rise of tension. and because they were on such high alert, that they mistook this airliner for an aircraft that could be hostile. they say that it took off from the airport and was at an altitude and at a pitch where it was perceived to be a threat by one of their air defense systems. they said that it was coming towards a revolutionary guard sensitive area and was shot down in error. and there have been some reactions that we've been getting from iran's foreign minister and also from iran's supreme leader which we're hearing right now. the information there is that apparently the supreme leader according to iran's information was informed about this last night, friday night, and convened a segssion of iran security council and issued the

order to be transparent and to tell the people what happened. so that is coming from iran's supreme leader. at the same time, you have calls for investigations coming from a flurry of iranian political and religious leaders as well. the president of the country rouhani called this an unjustifiable mistake and said those who are behind it will be held accountable. he is calling for tjustice and the military saying that there will be a military trial for those behind all this and that they are going to reform the procedures that they have for their air defense system. >> all right. fred pleitgen with the latest for us there, thank you. up next, the shifting stories over what led to the killing of iran's second most powerful official. we'll take a closer look at the trump administration's inconsistencies in the death of general qassem soleimani.

are so if you are looking for imminence, you need to look no further to the days that led up to the strike taken against soleimani. this was an intelligenced based assessment. no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks being plotted by qassem soleimani. >> and what is your definition of imminent? >> this was going to happen. >> there according to the u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo, it was an imminent threat, a word he keeps using to justify the killing of iran's top general qassem soleimani. >> and in comes as iran is now admitting that it shot down a ukranian passenger plane unintentionally killing all 176 people on board. president rue rouhani oez says that it was human error. and the foreign minister is also blaming a crisis caused by u.s. adventurism as he called it after the u.s. killed that top

iranian general. the trump administration keeps switching its story on why it killed the general. jim acosta has that from the white house. >> reporter: still in search of a justification for taking out iranian general qassem soleimani, president trump now says that iran was plotting to attack multiple u.s. embassies. >> i can reveal that i believe it would have been four embassies. >> reporter: that is more than what the president said one day earlier. >> we did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy. >> reporter: and that capped a week of mounting inconsistencies as top officials insisted that an attack was imminent even though they couldn't specify the time and place. >> there is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks being plotted by soleimani. we don't know precisely when or where, but it was real. >> it was imminent. you know, you never know the time and place of these things with perfect particularity.

>> reporter: and secretary of state mike pompeo tried to do some juncleanup. >> we had information on an imminent threat and it included attacks on u.s. embassies. period, full stop. >> so you were mistaken when you said that you didn't know precisely when or resiprecisely? >> no, that is consistent thoughts. >> you said that the senators are lying? >> we told them about the imminent threat, all of the intelligence that we briefed that you've heard today i assure you in an unclassified setting we provided in the classified setting as well. >> reporter: but democrats say it is all news to them. >> not one word of that was mentioned. is it true? i don't know. we didn't hear it. >> i have no idea where he got that from, but that is par for the course for this president. >> consistently and in multiple briefings i've received on this, they have not shown imminence. >> reporter: the president touted the killing at a rally in

ohio where he said that there was no way that he was going to brief nancy pelosi before the strike. >> we got a call, we heard where he was. we knew the way that he was getting there. and we had to make a decision. we didn't have time to call up nancy who is not operating with a full deck. >> reporter: the inconsistencies could become a major headache for mr. trump who once told wolf blitzer forger president george w. bush should have been impeached for lying about the war in iraq. >> bush got us into this horrible war with lies, by lying, by saying they had weapons of mass destruction, by saying all 150r9 sorts things t weren't true. >> reporter: the trump administration is still revealinging n innew details wi u.s. official confirming on the same night as the soleimani strike, american forces targeted a separate iranian military official in yemen. but that mission was unsuck sectionful. and one other problem for the white house as the iraqi prime minister is requesting a time

line for american withdrawal from the country. >> we are happy to continue the conversation about what the right structure is. our mission is very clear, we've been there to perform a training mission to help the iraqi security forces be successful. and to continue the campaign against isis. >> reporter: the trump administration announced new sanctions on iran aimed at further punishing that country's economy and senior iranian officials. the white house hopes the new sanctions will prod wrairan to back to the bargaining table over the nuclear table, but hard to imagine that happening as iran appears to have closed the door of talking about much of anything. jim acosta, cnn, the white house. >> let's talk about this with james dafvis. he is joining us from munich. good to see you. first up i want to ask you, the definition of imminent seems to be in question here.

and was it an embassy, embassies, what do you make of the shifting stories from the trump administration? >> yeah, i think this is what you get when the president makes a decision spur of the moment out of affect and emotional decision, some might say instinctive decision, and then after the fact you try to create justification for it. i think if you went back over the last probably 10 to 15 years, you would find that soleimani and the quds force were planning all sorts of activities against american assets and america's allies in the region. so if you look hard enough, you will find plenty of plan, but does that mean any were imminent in the sense that the the actions that would be needed to execute them were under way. and i think that the administration is showing us that that is not the case. >> and lawmakers say that they were not briefed on the imminent threat. mike pompeo says that they were. no clarity there. but what if they weren't

briefed, what if they were left out? >> well, the problem here is an old one. the question of when does the president have the authorization to use force without congress allege approval. if the united states is under attack or an attack is truly imminent, that is to say actions are under way in preparation for an attack, then of course the president is expected and has the right under the constitution to take action to prevent or thwart an attack on the united states. but if this is a more -- if this is part of a larger political strategy intended to send signals to the iranians, intended to perhaps put the pressure on the iranians to get them to reconsider the notion of reconsidering the iran nuclear deal, then the president really does have to go to congress and ask for authority. he is claiming or parts of the administration are claiming that he has the authority based on the resolution passed after 9/11 and the resolution passed with

respect to the iraq war. this has nothing to do with the iraq war or 9/11. this is a larger geo strategic competition between the united states and iran for influence in the region. and so i think that it is reasonable to expect that the president would consult with the congress before he would take actions if those actions are not really in response to an imminent threat. >> we heard what he said about not talking to nancy pelosi. let's talk about pelosi and the impeachment trial. let's pivot to that. she now says that the wait is over, she will bring the articles of impeachment to the floor next week. why now do you think? >> that is a good question. i'm slow to question nancy pelosi's strategic or tactical sense. i think that she has mastered this process so far and shown that she is in fact a master of politics in washington. my guess is that she has come to the conclusion that she has gotten about as much a she can get out of the delay.

what she was able to do was provide time for the american public to fcouple with their members of congress over the christmas holidays, some additional documents have come to light which suggests that there really was an attempt by the president to instigate a quid pro quo. she was able to draw out the senate and make clear that the senate republican leadership has no intention of having a neutral trial here but is very much coordinating with the president to make sure that this thing is over quickly and that the president is white washed. so i think she's gotten that out of the delay. and that is probably about all she could expect to get. the end game here is pretty much certain. barring any new great revelat n revelations, the republican majority in the senate is going to clear the president. >> well, it is coming, we know that at least. thanks so much for your input,

james davis live from munich. >> thanks, natalie. more ahead as we continue following the breaking news out of iran. iran's military saying that it shot down a ukranian passenger plane by high school takmistake. and also firefighters battling the massive fires in australia. but they will get a break. - do you have a box of video tapes, film reels, or photos,

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australian officials have reopened several beaches and tourist areas in new south wales as bush fires there ease. >> cooler temperatures and some rainfall are giving firefighters a chance to get the upper hand on the massive fires, but the devastation is fast. >> and it is heartbreaking to see. there is hardly anything left in some parts of victoria. anna coren has the story of one man who survived the fires. >> holy [ bleep ]. behind me is mallacoota. the fire has taken everything

unfortunately. this is pretty [ bleep ] life and death situations. but this is by far the most hectic thing i've ever seen. everyone that i knew of if they didn't have a boat, they were all evacuate the down to the main wharf where fire engines and everyone was there to take care of them. i suppose last resort was to jump into the water. and then locals, everyone that i kn knew. we have decided to [ bleep ]. now the fire front has come through. it was black. and then it went really black. and then it went red. and it was quite scary actually. the supplies, but i hope everyone is b[ bleep ] just

[ bleep ]. get in the water. it is [ bleep ] chaos. fire is a strange thing. it goes around some people's houses and other people's houses are just completely gone. it is crazy. this avenue is the most worse affected area i believe. some residents decided to stay. he saved his family home and friend's home in the street with a bucket of water and those guys are crazy. this is going to affect me directly and also everyone in town. it is probably one of the -- well, it is the biggest employment in town for everyone. and some of the people who lost their homes work here. i've never seen anything like it. i hope everyone is [ bleep ] safe. >> will the town bounce back? >> of course we will.

people will get their houses rebuilt. we'll move on. keep doing what we're doing right now until we have road access. yeah, i'm really looking forward to going and seeing my mrs. and kid. >> so as we said, yeah, small break for firefighters, but they are up against so much there. >> and those fires still burning out of control. >> okay. coming next, breaking news iran now admitting that ukranian passenger plane was targeted and shot down unintentionally on wednesday. iranian president hassan rouhani saying in a tweet that he deeply he regrets the disastrous mistake and he vows to prosecute those responsible for downing the plane. >> there were 176 on that flight that was bound to kiev. iran isn't taking all the responsibility though. the country's armed forces headquarters blames increased radar activity and fear of u.s. aggression for the mistake.

the people killed came from all over the world. iran, canada, ukraine, sweden, afghanistan, germany and the united kingdom. >> we have reporters live all across the region and we'll be going back to them in just a moment. >> "cnn newsroom" continues after this. these folks, they don't have time to go to the post office they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the amazing services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again!

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5:00 a.m. here in atlanta, georgia. and this is the story we've been following out of iran. iran now admitting it shot down a ukrainian passenger plane by mistake. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world, i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell. breaking news we're following this day, iran initially having denied shot the plane down, the leader now saying a missile brought down the passenger jet that plane on wednesday killing all 176 people on board. >> the united states, canada and other countries had already reached that conclusion. the plane crashed just a few hours after iran launched missiles at military bases in iraq housing u.s. troops. >> also, we want to show you dramatic new video. it shows the moment that the plane hit the ground. we warn you before you see the video. it is graphic. some may find this disturbing. >> it was taken from a surveillance camera on a