Iran Accuses Canada of ‘Unwarranted Interference’ Over Ukrainian Plane

Iran accused Canada of having “the most unwarranted interference” regarding the downing of the Ukrainian aircraft. This accusation came after Canada’s Foreign Minister expressed doubt about Iran’s account of how the plane was shot down.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman responded to recent statements by François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Foreign Minister, who questioned the credibility of “human error” in the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane in early January this year.

According to ISNA, Saeed Khatibzadeh called Champagne’s statements “unacceptable” and said: “Canadian officials have had the most unwarranted interference in this matter from day one and tried to prevent the natural course of clarifying the issue. Their behavior is completely political and unlawful, and they are trying to use these statements for propaganda.”

He accused Canadian officials of intending to “make a hat for themselves from the great grief of these families and profit from it.” Khatibzadeh warned Canada’s Foreign Minister and government to “be accountable for their own actions.”

He added: “A government that has made all efforts to block the financial channels for transferring medicine to Iran has no standing to speak about human rights. Iran is responsibly pursuing its duties and I invite the Canadian government to enter this matter in accordance with its position and dignity.”

“A Questionable Narrative”

Canada’s Foreign Minister emphasized on Wednesday, December 16 (December 26 in the Iranian calendar), in an interview with Canadian network “CBC” that firing a missile at the passenger plane raised many questions and investigations must be allowed to continue.

François-Philippe Champagne also described Iran’s narrative about why the Ukrainian passenger plane was targeted by the Revolutionary Guards as “questionable.”

Khatibzadeh, in response to these statements, said: “The Foreign Ministry at the highest level has sought to clarify all aspects of the matter, and of course the armed forces and the country’s civil aviation organization should provide explanations in this regard, and a technical report has been prepared.”

According to his claim, no deadline has been missed in investigating this case, and Iran is making all efforts to fulfill its duties based on international conventions.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “The technical report on this matter will be released today or tomorrow and will be sent to Ukrainian parties and other involved parties.”

On January 8 last year, a Ukrainian passenger plane shortly after takeoff from Tehran airport was targeted by two missiles from the air defense system of the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace force and was shot down.

Iran, which denied firing at the plane in the first three days after the incident, eventually admitted after the release of evidence and reports about the missile strike that the Revolutionary Guards had mistaken the plane for a cruise missile and fired at it.

International Airlines Flight 752 had 176 passengers, all of whom died. The firing at the plane occurred shortly after Iran’s missile attack on the “Ain al-Asad” base of the United States in Iraq.

Despite the fact that at that time the Revolutionary Guards were on full alert, Iran did not cancel passenger flights—a measure some refer to as providing a “human shield” to prevent a possible U.S. retaliatory attack.

Source: DW