Blood on their hands
PM blames ‘tensions’ between US and Iran for flight deaths
Victims of an Irandowned jetliner would still be alive if not for a recent escalation of tensions partly triggered by the US, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday.
The US killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in a January 3 drone strike prompted Iran to launch a missile attack on Iraqi bases housing US troops on January 8, hours before the passenger jet was shot down. All 176 aboard were killed, including 57 Canadians.
“I think if there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families,” Mr Trudeau said in a television interview.
He added that the international community has been “very, very clear about needing to have a non-nuclear Iran” but also in “managing the tensions in the region that are brought about by US actions as well”.
Mr Trudeau also said he would have “obviously” liked a heads-up from Washington about the strike on Soleimani.
Over the weekend, Mr Trudeau demanded that Iran provide Canada with “full clarity” on the airliner shootdown.
The Prime Minister said he made the demand in a call with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, who admitted earlier on Saturday that the airliner was mistakenly shot down by Iranian missiles.
Mr Trudeau said he told Mr Rouhani the admission was “an important step” but “many more steps must be taken”.
“A full and complete investigation must be conducted,” he said. “We need full clarity on how such a horrific tragedy could have occurred.
“Iran must take full responsibility,” Mr Trudeau said.
A Toronto law student who lost his mother in the crash echoed Mr Trudeau’s statement.
“Once you start to cope with the sorrow a little bit, then came the tragic news that it was downed by a missile, and it was almost as if she died again,” Amirali Alavi said.
The 27-year-old said that “thinking how it could have been avoided, how somebody’s responsible for it” made him furious and inconsolable.
The accident was a deep blow to the Iranian community in Canada, which is home to North America’s largest Iranian diaspora. According to the last census, there were 210,000 Canadians of Iranian origin living in Canada in 2016.
Asked whether Ottawa would demand that Tehran pay financial compensation to the families of Canadian victims, Mr Trudeau indicated that it would. He also said he insisted to Mr Rouhani that Canada be allowed to participate in the investigation.
Three members of a Canadian rapid deployment team flying to Tehran will have access to the plane’s wreckage and blackboxes, Iranian officials confirmed yesterday.