Iran now admits that missiles fired by their military did indeed bring down the Ukrainian Airlines plane that killed 176 people, 63 of them Canadians.

In a statement made by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the government apologized and offered condolences to the families of the victims and suggested it was all just a terrible mistake "due to human error."

The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake.

My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences. https://t.co/4dkePxupzm

— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 11, 2020

The admission follows days of speculation and assertions by authorities in Canada and the United States that the cause of the crash was a missile, not a mechanical issue as the Iranian government initially suggested.

The OSINT experts cataloged and mapped some of the debris of the Ukrainian passenger jet and claim that some debris from Boeing 737-800 shows signs of a missile strike. pic.twitter.com/lCVO4B0ph1

— Defence360_Official (@Defence_360) January 9, 2020

Ukrainian investigators and journalists had reportedly found missile debris at the crash site making it all but inevitable that Iran would finally need to take responsibility for the tragedy.

Amazing scenes of protest in Tehran tonight. While thousand have been on the streets in months past, Tehran tended to shy away from protests. Not now. Incompetence of regime in downing the plane is just too much. pic.twitter.com/UFJXX7Yx6c

— Bessma Momani (@b_momani) January 11, 2020

The admission led to protests on the streets of Tehran where thousands accused Iran's leaders of dishonesty and murder.

Chants of “Death to the dishonest Supreme Leader" break out at a protest in Tehran.

Wow.

pic.twitter.com/jAbMvUvsWg

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) January 11, 2020

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the media on Saturday afternoon in Ottawa stating that "Iran must take full responsibility" for their actions, including possibly providing compensation to the families of the victims.

WATCH: “I wished I had died. I accept full responsibility.”

General Hajizadeh, commander of IRGC’s aerospace division, accepts "full responsibility" for unintentionally downing the plane & killing 179 in the midst of heightened tensions with 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/rQDYAS1uZG

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) January 11, 2020

According to reports, after the crash Iran Revolutionary Guards' commander Amirali Hajizadeh almost immediately informed Iran's authorities that they had unintentionally shot down the airliner with two Russian-made Sa-15 surface-to-air missiles because the plane flew too close to a sensitive military site.

It's unclear why it took additional days before Iran publicly admitted their mistake.