Canada examines audio file attributed to Zarif about "downing of Ukrainian plane"
Canada's CBC News reported on Tuesday, February 11, that the Canadian government and security agencies are reviewing an audio file that is said to belong to the Iranian Foreign Minister, in which he talks about the intentional shooting down of the Ukrainian plane.
According to the report, a voice said to be attributed to Mohammad Javad Zarif says in the audio file that there are "thousands of possibilities" in explaining how the Ukrainian passenger plane was shot down, including that two or three "infiltrators" did it, "a scenario that is not unlikely."
Canada's CBC News added that a voice attributed to Mohammad Javad Zarif continued that the Iranian government and military will never allow the truth to come to light.
The voice further stated in Persian that the reason the truth is not allowed to be revealed is that such a move would open "some doors to the country's defense system" which "is not in the country's interest."
On the morning of January 8, the Revolutionary Guards shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, flight number PS 752, as it was taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport, by firing at least two missiles, killing all 176 people on board.
After several days of concealment, the Revolutionary Guard Corps finally admitted, under pressure from the international community, that the plane had been shot down by IRGC missiles, but declared the cause to be "human error."
Canada's CBC News Network says it listened to the audio file and had its content translated from Persian to English by three people.
Ralph Goodale, the Canadian Prime Minister's special advisor on the downing of Flight 752, has also said that he is aware of the existence of this audio file.
Ralph Goodale added that this audio file contains sensitive information and commenting on its details in the media could put the lives of some people at risk.
Among the dead were dozens of foreign citizens from Canada, Afghanistan, Britain, and Ukraine, and Iran has not yet provided a comprehensive report to the aforementioned countries on why the flight was targeted.
On the anniversary of the downing of the plane, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani once again promised that those responsible for the incident would "definitely" be brought to justice.
After the downing of the Ukrainian plane, many reports have been published about the threats and pressure from the Revolutionary Guards on the families of the Iranian victims to remain silent on the matter.
Families of the victims say that over the past year, the Iranian government has attempted to "hijack" the funeral and memorial services for the 176 victims of the Ukrainian plane crash.
Source: Radio Farda
