Nuclear deal complicates crash probe
BRITAIN, FRANCE AND GERMANY MAY BRING BACK SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN
Iran’s president levelled threats Wednesday against Europe in response to European countries’ new crackdown on his country’s violations of their nuclear deal — a move Canada is also supporting.
The escalation of rhetoric over the nuclear deal is casting a shadow over an international meeting that Canada hopes will lead to justice and financial compensation for the families of the victims of Iran’s shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner.
Foreign Affairs Minister FrancoisPhilippe Champagne was to arrive in London for a meeting today of the International Co-ordination and Response Group for families of victims of Flight PS752, which Iran downed last week killing all 176 people on board, including 57 Canadians and 82 Iranians.
The Canadian Press has independently confirmed at least 89 victims with ties to Canada, many of them students and professors returning after spending the December break visiting relatives in Iran.
The meeting at the Canadian High Commission will include representatives of Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain, and is being billed by Ottawa as a step towards “closure, accountability, transparency and justice — including compensation — for the families and loved ones of the victims.”
As attendees gathered, Canada demanded official status in Iran’s investigation of the crash.
In a news conference in Ottawa, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said two Canadian investigators are in Iran as part of an international team and have been getting good cooperation, but he wants their participation in the probe formalized.
“We will not accept a situation where we are not being given the information we are looking for,” Garneau said.
He said the plane’s “black boxes” are in Iranian hands and another two investigators are ready to go wherever and whenever the recorders are examined. He said he has seen a video recording — publicized by the New York Times — showing what appear to be two separate missiles targeting the plane, not just one, and that’s exactly the kind of detail that the investigation must examine.
After denying for days that it shot down the passenger plane, Iran’s leaders apologized and admitted what they said was a mistake, striking a conciliatory tone.
That shifted on Wednesday when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said European soldiers in the Middle East “could be in danger” as a result of Tuesday’s decision by Britain, France and Germany to trigger a section of their 2015 nuclear agreement that could bring back European sanctions against Iran.
Prior to travelling to London, Champagne issued a statement supporting the European decision and called on Iran to “restore its full commitments” to the deal.
“Canada strongly supports the diplomatic engagement of France, Germany and the United Kingdom in pressing Iran to respect its commitments under the agreement,” Champagne said, noting that Canada is a “lead contributor” to the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency’s role in monitoring Iran’s compliance.
Garneau said the argument over the nuclear deal won’t affect the countries whose representatives are meeting to talk about the crash.