According to Majidi, 161 of the 168 passengers were Iranian, including 10 members of the national junior judo team and Armenian-Iranian parliament deputy Leon Davidian. Among the foreigners, there were reportedly Armenians, Georgians and Australians.

A hotline was established for the families of the victims. Majidi said that some of them have already come to Qazvin to identify the bodies.

The accident was the ninth plane crash in the past six years in Iran.

Iran's air fleet, based mainly on US technology, has been one of Iran's industries hit by US and international sanctions, which have stopped the purchase of new models and spare parts.