IRAN: RADAR MISTAKE LED TO DOWNING OF UKRAINE AIRLINER

Iranian investigators blamed the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet over Tehran earlier this year on the misalignment of an air defense unit’s radar system in a report issued late Saturday.

All passengers and crew members, 176 people, aboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 were killed in the Jan. 8 crash, which sparked widespread public anger. Iranian authorities took days to admit that its forces had fired an anti-aircraft missile at the Boeing 737-800 shortly after its takeoff from Imam Khomeini International Airport.

Most of the dead were Iranian; 85 had citizenship or permanent residence in Canada. Many were students; some were headed to Canada to resume their studies after the holiday break. In the days after the strike, Iranian campuses erupted in protests as griefstricken and angry youths called for justice.

Canadian officials pressed Sunday for more answers.

“Immediate action is required from the Iranian regime to ensure that they conduct a comprehensive and transparent investigation in accordance with international standards, so that all those responsible are held accountable,” said Sylvain Leclerc, a spokesman for Global Affairs Canada.

The report from Iran’s civil aviation authority built on earlier findings that blamed the human error of a missile operator who had 10 seconds to decide whether the plane was a threat.

The downing occurred at a time when regional tensions were boiling. A U.S. drone strike killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3, and Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles at U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The Iranian armed forces were then bracing for a counter-strike.