The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Iran Shot Down Plane Full of Canadians

Posted on | January 10, 2020 | 1 Comment

After attacking U.S. forces in Iraq Tuesday night, it appears, Iran was on such high alert they shot down a plane full of Canadians by mistake:

The Ukrainian flight that crashed just outside the Iranian capital of Tehran was struck by an anti-aircraft missile system, a Pentagon official, a senior U.S. intelligence official and an Iraqi intelligence official told Newsweek. None of the officials was authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, a Boeing 737–800 en route from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airpot to Kyiv’s Boryspil International Airport, stopped transmitting data Tuesday just minutes after takeoff and not long after Iran launched missiles at military bases housing U.S. and allied forces in neighboring Iraq. The aircraft is believed to have been struck by a Russia-built Tor-M1 surface-to-air missile system, known to NATO as Gauntlet, the three officials told Newsweek.
One Pentagon and one U.S. senior intelligence official told Newsweek that the Pentagon’s assessment is that the incident was accidental. Iran’s anti-aircraft systems were likely active following the country’s missile attack, which came in response to the U.S. killing last week of Revolutionary Guard Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, sources said.

Question: Why were so many Canadians on that flight out of Tehran?

Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed shortly after taking off from the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 passengers and crew members on board.
The plane was bound for Kiev and many on board had a connecting flight to Toronto, Canada’s largest city and a transit hub.
Of those passengers, 63 were Canadians citizens. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that, all told, 138 people on that flight were en route to Canada. . . .
Canada is home to a large Iranian diaspora, with some 210,000 citizens of Iranian descent, according to the latest federal census.
The country is also a popular destination for Iranian graduate and postdoxtoral students to study and conduct research abroad, which is why many students were on the flight, returning to university following the winter break.
There is also no direct flight between Canada and Iran, and the Ukraine International Airlines flight from Tehran to Kiev and then to Toronto is popular because it is one of the most affordable options for the journey.

The media, trying to find some way to blame this on Trump, has seized upon the word “crossfire” as the mechanism of blame-shifting.



 

Category: Canada, Iran

Comments

One Response to “Iran Shot Down Plane Full of Canadians”

  1. Friday Links | 357 Magnum
    January 10th, 2020 @ 11:09 am

    […] Other McCain notes that Iran Shot Down Plane Full of Canadians. And somehow the media is sure that it is all Trump’s […]