The statement, which gives updates on Roscosmos' satellite monitoring operations, also said that the agency planned to monitor the Australian bushfires, and floods in Indonesia, Israel, and the Italian city of Venice, among other natural disasters.

The tragic crash involved a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800, bound for Kiev, and happened on Wednesday near Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport shortly after take-off. All 176 people on board were killed.

On the same day, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps started an operation to retaliate against the US for killing one of its top generals, Qasem Soleimani, in Iraq, launching dozens of missiles at the country's Ain Al Asad and Erbil air bases. The attack caused no casualties.