Iran blames air defense operator for downing plane

The final report by Iran's civil aviation agency blamed blamed an air defense operator for accidentally shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet in January 2020.

The report, which was released Wednesday, found "the plane was identified as a hostile target due to a mistake by the air defense operator…near Tehran and two missiles were fired at it."

"The flight's operation did not have a role in creating the error by the air defense battery," continued the report.

Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which had just taken off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on January 8, 2020, was struck by two missiles from Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The plane was traveling to Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport, but crashed after being struck, killing all 176 people on board.

Ukraine, Canada not convinced

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was not satisfied with Wednesday's report. He accused Iranian authorities of masking the real reasons for the crash.

"What we saw in the published report today is nothing more than a cynical attempt to hide the true reasons for the downing of our plane," wrote Kuleba in a Facebook post. "We will not allow Iran to hide the truth, we will not allow it to avoid responsibility for this crime."

Canada, where 63 victims claimed nationality, was similarly displeased. Foreign minister Marc Garneau and transportation minister Omar Alghabra released a statement that said Iran made "no attempt to answer critical questions about what truly happened, appears incomplete, and has no hard facts or evidence."

The statement added that Canada would "soon disclose the results of its own investigation."

Shot down after Soleimani killing

The plane downing occurred just days after the US killed Iran's most powerful military commander, Qassem Soleimani, in a missile strike near Baghdad International Airport in neighboring Iraq. Iran retaliated by striking US armed forces in Iraq.

The Iranian government initially denied the shootdown, but later described it as a "disastrous mistake" that someone mistook the plane for a missile attack. Iran was also hesitant and delayed giving the recovered flight recorder boxes to other countries for inspection.

Last month, a UN rappoteur who investigated the incident said there was no concrete evidence the plane was downed intentionally, but Iran could not prove that it was accidental. An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman called the rappoteur's six-month investigation an "unwarranted involvement that might not have a constructive impact on the legal procedures."

kbd/aw (dpa, Reuters)