Canada Claims Proof That Ukrainian Airliner was Shot Down by Iran

The longstanding tensions between the United States and Iran came to a head this week after each took a very literal shot at one another.

The US, in response to a siege of the US embassy in Baghdad by Iran-backed protesters, launched a drone strike that killed one of Iran’s most powerful military leaders, General Qasem Soleimani.  The next night, Iran struck back by launching 15 missiles into the general vicinity of American troops in Iraq, likely missing on purpose according to experts.  Iran couldn’t really afford to cross that threshold, but they still needed to look tough in the eyes of their people.

During that late night missile melee, a Ukrainian airliner also crashed in Iran, with authorities in Tehran refusing to hand over the plane’s black box – a sure sign that something may be amiss.

Now, Canada is claiming to have proof of foul play.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada has intelligence that indicates that the plane that crashed in Iran Wednesday morning, killing all 176 people aboard, was shot down by an Iranian missile – possibly by accident.

“We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional,” the prime minister said Thursday afternoon at a news conference.

Ukraine Airlines flight PS752 crashed near Tehran shortly after taking off. Sixty-three of its passengers had Canadian passports, and many others were living in Canada as permanent residents or on visas.

Trudeau was unable to comment on the specific evidence that led to this conclusion, at least at this early stage in the investigation.