Kyiv/Tehran  | Iran's stunning admission that its forces errantly downed a Ukrainian jetliner - reversing three days of denial - did little to quell growing fury inside the country and beyond at the weekend as the deadly tragedy turned into a volatile political crisis for Tehran's leaders and overshadowed their struggle with the United States.

Ukrainian officials criticised Iran's conduct, suggesting that the Iranians would not have admitted responsibility if investigators from Ukraine had not found evidence of a missile strike in the wreckage of the crash, which killed all 176 people aboard.