Group of Seven Emphasizes Iran Must Be ‘Held Accountable’ for Downing Ukrainian Passenger Plane
The Group of Seven industrialized nations on Tuesday, July 28, emphasized at the conclusion of their three-day meeting in southern Germany that Iran must be held accountable for downing Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752.
The “Group of Seven” countries declared in a statement that “we will continue to support international efforts to hold Iran accountable for the unlawful downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752.”
The Ukrainian aircraft with flight number PS752 was shot down on January 8, 2020, minutes after takeoff from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport by at least two air defense missiles fired by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board.
According to a report by the Canadian government, 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents of Canada were killed on Flight 752.
Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice in Canada ruled that the shooting of the aircraft by the Revolutionary Guard Corps was intentional and constituted an act of terrorism.
The incident occurred on a day when Iran, five days after the killing of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, on the orders of Donald Trump, launched a retaliatory missile attack against a U.S. military base in Iraq.
Ukraine, Canada, and the families of the victims of this flight have stated, based on available evidence, that the Islamic Republic used this aircraft as a “human shield” against a potential U.S. response to Iran’s nighttime attack on the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq.
The families of the aircraft victims have expressed concern that since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Kyiv’s government has stopped pursuing the case of the downed aircraft.
The government of Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, whose country is one of the seven members of the industrial group, has used every opportunity on the international stage to pressure Tehran regarding the still-open case of the downed aircraft.
Source: Radio Farda
