A jet crash in Tehran leaves Canada reeling

Although the crash of a passenger jet in Iran this week occurred in a Middle East country half-way around the world, it was most definitely a Canadian tragedy.

It may well have been an Iranian missile that knocked this plane out of the sky, a horrifying possibility, but one many Western officials say is supported by reliable intelligence report .

And the disaster, which claimed the lives of all 176 people aboard the flight, took place in the midst of rising hostilities between the United States and Iran, hostilities that have seen the two countries exchange missile fire at one another over the past eight days.

But when Ukraine International Airlines Flight 742 slammed into the ground outside Tehran on Wednesday, it was Canada that was left the most bloodied. This was the worst aviation disaster for this country in a generation.

Of the 176 passengers aboard that plane, at least 76 were Canadian citizens. Another 62 were coming to Canada to work, study or visit relatives.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was right on Thursday to renew his demand for a thorough investigation into the matter. He believes a missile, not mechanical failure, is to blame. And it is at least a positive development that the Iranian government has agreed to let Canadian investigators into the country to probe the disaster.

But what perplexing times we live in. In recent days, many Canadians have viewed Iran as a potential threat because of the growing tensions between it and the United States and because Canada has hundreds of troops in that part of the world who may be vulnerable to Iranian attack.

The victims of Flight 742 show how blinkered that view is. Most of those victims were either IranianCanadians or Iranians building a life here. Because of this, the plane crash is a reminder not only of the fraught geopolitics that separate Canada from Iran, but of the common humanity we all share. Why can’t the world’s powerbrokers realize this?

Among the Canadian victims were academics and students returning from holiday. There were people connected to McMaster University, University of Waterloo and University of Guelph. There were professionals, including a dentist, an architect and a mechanical designer. There were, heartbreaking to say, also families with young children.

Not since the Air India disaster of 1985 have so many Canadians perished in an airplane crash. This country is now mourning losses that have shocked it. But could this tragedy also convince us to strive for a better understanding of Iran and Iranians?

Canadians have long known how Iran’s theocratic rulers repress their own people while violently destabilizing the Middle East. But Iran is so much more than that despotic cabal.

Out of that country have also come the dynamic, educated and contributing members of an IranianCanadian community that now numbers 200,000 people. We lost scores of them this week.

In the days ahead, we need to learn exactly why their plane crashed. If the Iranian government was responsible for the crash, it should stand up and admit a terrible mistake that has claimed the lives of innocent Iranians and Canadians alike.

As for U.S. President Donald Trump, who stoked the fires of the current crisis by ordering last week’s assassination of an Iranian general, we can only feel rage.

He rejoiced this week because a retaliatory Iranian missile attack killed no Americans. What will the blunderer say if it was an Iranian missile that killed all those Canadians?