Canada investigation finds no evidence Ukraine plane crash was ‘premeditated’

Canada admits that it has found "no evidence" after eight months of investigation that the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane by Iran’s military was “premeditated."

CBC News on Wednesday cited an unclassified report on the circumstances and causes of the aircraft’s destruction, which said "the Forensic Team found no evidence that the downing of Flight PS752 was premeditated."

The report comes a month after a Canadian court ruled that the incident was deliberate and claimed it was an “act of terrorism.”

On January 8, 2020, the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, en route to Kiev while carrying mostly Iranians, crashed minutes after takeoff near the Iranian capital, killing all of the 176 passengers on board.

The new report, according to CBS News, is based on all evidence and intelligence available to the Canadian government.

It, however, blamed Iranian civil and military authorities for causing “a dangerous situation” that led to the downing of the plane.

However, the report failed to mention the United States’ unprecedented assassination of Iran’s top anti-terror general, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad on January 3, 2020, which in turn set in train a series of events that led to the downing of the plane near Tehran five days later.

Amid soaring tensions after the ill-advised assassination of General Soleimani, the Islamic Republic finally decided to retaliate by launching a series of missiles at an American base in Iraq on January 8, 2020.

Tehran has said the Ukrainian plane was downed accidentally by the operator of a surface-to-air-missile system soon after Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes, which put the country’s military on the highest state of defensive alert as well as preparedness for a full-fledged war.

Iran slams unprofessional behaviors regarding Ukrainian plane; says ready to negotiate

A senior Iranian diplomat has blasted the unprofessional behavior of certain countries in dealing with the 2020 Ukrainian plane crash near Tehran.

Iran has repeatedly denounced what it called politicizing the case by certain countries, including Canada and Ukraine.

Back in March, Tehran published the final results of its investigation into the causes of the incident. In the report, whose Persian version runs over 280 pages, Iran’s civil aviation agency reiterated that human error was behind the incident.

“Following a tactical relocation, the relevant ADU (air defense unit) failed to adjust the system direction due to human error, causing the operator to observe the target flying west from IKA (Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport) as a target approaching Tehran from the southwest at a relatively low altitude,” the final report said.

Iran's military court denies nonsuit order for Ukraine plane crash culprits

The Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces denies a nonsuit order for the culprits in the downing of a Ukrainian plane.

Last month, the Judicial Organization of the Iranian Armed Forces denied rumors that a nonsuit order was issued for the culprits in the downing of a Ukrainian plane in early 2020, saying the defendants are being prosecuted

“As previously mentioned, ten defendants in this case were summoned to the court due to culpability and negligence, and the case was sent to the court after an indictment was issued,” Fars news agency quoted an informed source as saying on May 2.

Meanwhile, Tehran has promised to bring those culpable in the incident to justice and has allocated 200 million euros as compensation to the families of the victims.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk