Ukraine Plane Crash: Canada, UK, Ukraine Say Plane Was Shot Down By Iran, Cites Intel

After a Ukrainian plane crashed in Tehran Wednesday, the obvious questions now are why would Iran shoot down a foreign airliner mostly carrying Iranian citizens inside Iran? Was this shoot down that killed 176 persons really an accident?

These questions are begging to be answered, and assumed critical importance, after the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine released statements saying they believe Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down early Wednesday morning over Iran by Russian-made surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) fired by the Iranian military.

Flight 752, a Boeing 737-8KV en route from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport to Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport, stopped transmitting data to ground controllers a few minutes after take-off at 6:12 a.m. It crashed into the town of Shahedshahr to the southwest of Tehran.

Tracking data shows the plane had apparently began to bank right as it attempted to head back to Tehran. The plane then disappeared from radar.

The shoot down occurred a few hours after Iran launched 22 ballistic missiles at two military air bases in Iraq housing U.S. and coalition troops.

U.S. intelligence sources said the plane was blown from the sky by two missiles fired from a Russia-built Tor-M1 surface-to-air missile system, with the NATO reporting the name of SA-15 "Gauntlet." Fragments of the Tor missile were found in Shahedshahr and images of these fragments were shared on social media. Russia delivered 29 Tor-M1 SAM systems to Iran in 2007.

Media reports said U.S. intelligence picked up signals of an Iranian ground-based radar being turned-on shortly before the plane was hit. U.S. satellites later detected two SAMs being fired right before the plane crashed.

Ukrainian authorities said a shootdown was one of the "main working theories" they're looking at. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau Thursday afternoon confirmed Iranian SAMs had unintentionally shot down the plane.

Trudeau said Canada has received "intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence" indicating "the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile."

"This may well have been unintentional," he said at a news conference. "This new information reinforces the need for a thorough investigation into this matter. Canada is working with its allies to ensure that a thorough and credible investigation is conducted to determine the causes of this fatal crash."

Of the 176 people aboard the plane, 82 were Iranian, 63 were Canadian, 11 were Ukrainian (including nine crewmembers), 10 Swedish, seven Afghan and three German.

Not long after Trudeau statements, British prime minister Boris Johnson said the United Kingdom's intelligence services had come to the same conclusion.

"There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian Surface to Air Missile," announced Johnson. "This may well have been unintentional. We are working closely with Canada and our international partners and there now needs to be a full, transparent investigation."

At the same time, Johnson called on all sides urgently to deescalate to reduce tensions in the region.

The Iranian military denied the plane was destroyed by its missiles. It also continues to claim a mechanical issue brought down the plane. Iran refuses to surrounder the downed plane's two black boxes to the United States for analysis.