Iran forced a Hungarian aircraft carrying military officials to land after it strayed into Iranian airspace, Hungary's defence ministry confirmed Tuesday.

The civilian plane, carrying a four-member military delegation to Afghanistan, was allowed to continue its journey after Iranian officials determined the entry was accidental, the ministry said in a statement.

It said the incident on Sept. 30 was the result of an "administrative error."

The ministry said the military personnel were part of a Hungarian team that took over direction of Kabul's international airport this month. They were flying in a Hawker 800 plane rented from the private Hungarian firm JAS Cargoways.

Earlier, Iranian state-owned television station Al-Alam issued a correction to its report that the plane was carrying U.S. military officials. It also said the semi-official Fars news agency had incorrectly identified it as a U.S. military aircraft.

Al-Alam quoted an Iranian military official as saying the plane "lost its way" and violated Iranian airspace. The official said the passengers were questioned before the plane was allowed to continue to Afghanistan.

With files from the Associated Press and Reuters