Audio proves Iran was aware of missile strike
Iran said Monday it was halting cooperation with Ukraine in the investigation of a downed airliner after Ukrainian media published an audio recording that showed Iranian authorities knew immediately of the missile strike that brought down the plane, killing all 176 people on board.
A leaked audio file and transcript were published late Sunday by Ukraine’s 1+1 television channel and included an exchange between an Iranian air traffic controller and a pilot who said he saw a missile hit Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8.
“Flares on route, as if from a missile,” the pilot of an Aseman Airlines flight from Shiraz to Tehran said to the controller, according to the transcript.
The controller responds that the tower was not informed of any missile activity. The pilot responds: “That surely is light from a missile.”
Iran for days denied that its forces had fired an antiaircraft missile and shot down the plane, a Boeing 737-800, shortly after takeoff from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. The incident came just hours after Iran fired missiles at military bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq — retaliation for a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general days before.
On Monday, Ukrainian and Iranian authorities both confirmed the authenticity of the recording and said it was shared with Ukraine as part of the investigation of the incident.
U.K., EU clash on trade as transition starts
Britain and the European Union set out clashing opening gambits Monday on striking a post-Brexit trade deal, making it clear that each side is willing to walk away without an agreement rather than compromise on key issues.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent a bravadofilled salvo toward Brussels three days after Britain became the first nation to leave the bloc. In a speech to business leaders and international diplomats in London, Mr. Johnson said “we want a free trade agreement” — but not at any cost.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier was equally emphatic that the EU’s 27 remaining nations wouldn’t agree to any British trade deal just to avoid a costly, chaotic “no-deal” at the start of 2021, when an 11-month post-Brexit transition period ends.
“We are in favor of free trade, but we are not going to be naive,” Mr. Barnier said.
In their divorce agreement, Britain and the EU agreed to strike an “ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership,” including a free trade deal and agreements for security and other areas. The details are to be worked out during a transition period lasting until the end of 2020, in which relations stay essentially unchanged. For the rest of this year, the U.K. will continue to follow EU rules, although it will no longer have a say in EU decision-making.
U.K. ends early releases of terror convicts
The British government said Monday it will introduce emergency legislation to stop people convicted of terror crimes from being released after serving half their sentences, following two attacks in London by recently freed offenders.
The announcement came the day after an Islamic extremist who had recently been released from prison wounded two people in south London, despite being under police surveillance. Sudesh Amman, 20, strapped on a fake bomb and stabbed two people on a busy street before being shot dead by police.
“Yesterday’s appalling incident makes the case plainly for immediate action,” Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told lawmakers. “We will therefore introduce emergency legislation to put an end to terrorist offenders getting released automatically having served half of their sentence with no check or review.”