‘HIGHLY LIKELY’ IRAN SHOT DOWN UKRAINIAN PLANE, SAY U.S., CANADA & U.K. OFFICIALS
Could’ve been mistaken for threat: U.S. officials
WASHINGTON — It is “highly likely” that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board, U.S., Canadian and British officials declared Thursday. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region.
The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops in its violent confrontation with Washington over the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The airliner could have been mistaken for a threat, said four U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said in Toronto: “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.”
Likewise, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered similar statements. Morrison also said it appeared to be a mistake. “All of the intelligence as presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act,” he said.
The assessment that 176 people on the Boeing 737-800 were killed as collateral damage in the Iranian-U.S. conflict cast a new pall over what had at first appeared to be a relatively calm aftermath following the U.S. military operation that killed Soleimani.
President Donald Trump suggested he believed Iran was responsible for the shootdown and dismissed Iran’s initial claim that it was a mechanical issue with the plane.
“Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side,” Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a “pretty rough neighborhood.”
The New York Times posted a video Thursday it said it had verified showing the moment the apparent missile struck the plane over Iran. The video shows a fast-moving object rising before a fiery explosion.
A preliminary Iranian investigative report released Thursday said that the airliner pilots never made a radio call for help and that the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport.
Early Friday in Tehran, Iran’s official news agency reported that the country is inviting Boeing experts to join the investigation.
Before the U.S. assessment, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Hasan Rezaeifa, the head of the civil aviation accident investigation commission, claiming “the topics of rocket, missile or anti-aircraft system is ruled out.”
Eyewitnesses, including the crew of another flight passing above, described the plane engulfed in flames before crashing at 6:18 a.m., the report said. The crash caused a massive explosion, likely because the aircraft had been fully loaded with fuel for the flight to Kyiv, Ukraine.
The plane was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members, including 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians.
Trump suggests NATO expansion
Trump said Thursday he thinks NATO should be expanded to include nations in the Middle East and even offered a new acronym.
“What a beautiful name — NATOME,” Trump said, pronouncing it “Nay-TOE-me.”
“I think NATO should be expanded and we should include the Middle East, absolutely. … Right now the burden is on us, and that’s not fair,” Trump said.