Iran's military claims it shot down the Ukrainian airliner by mistake.
(AP: Mohammad Nasiri)
Iran has criticised as "highly politicised" a report by Canadian forensic experts that accused the country of incompetence and recklessness over the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane last year.
Iran has criticised as "highly politicised" a report by Canadian forensic experts that accused the country of incompetence and recklessness over the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane last year.
Key points:
While not pre-meditated, the Canadian report said Iranian officials were reckless,
incompetent and ultimately responsible for the downing of flight PS752
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Iran still owes the victims' families answers
Iran has decried the expert report as "illegal" and "highly politicised"
The report found that while the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was not premeditated, it did not absolve Iranian officials of responsibility for the incident.
The doomed flight, from Tehran to Kiev, crashed on January 8, 2020 shortly after takeoff with 176 people on board, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
Three days later, the Iranian armed forces admitted having shot down the aircraft "by mistake".
The wreckage of the MH17 disaster holds a message for Iran
The chance of a swift and honest outcome for those killed on Flight PS725 remains remote but we can be sure of one thing, writes Philip Williams.Read more
The Canadian expert report acknowledged that the forensic investigators, who examined all the evidence that was available to them, "found no evidence that the downing of Flight PS752 was premeditated".
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the report had nevertheless concluded Iran was "fully responsible" for shooting down the plane.
"The report highlights the Iranian authorities' recklessness, incompetence, and wanton disregard for human life," he said in a statement.
"Iran still owes these answers to the victims' loved ones so they can have a measure of closure.
"Canada will vigorously pursue full reparations for the downing and the harm that Iran has caused to the victims and their families."
Canada says Iran is fully responsible for the deaths of 176 people in the 2020 plane crash.(AP: Chris Young via The Canadian Press)
Iran slams report as 'highly politicised'
Canada and other countries are seeking reparations for victims' families.
Canada does not have formal diplomatic relations with Iran, making the process lengthy and complex.
"From a legal standpoint, they (Canada) lack any authority to conduct a unilateral or arbitrary report or comment on an air crash outside their jurisdiction," Mohsen Baharvand, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
"If this highly politicised and illegal behaviour by Canada became the norm, all countries, even the civil aviation industry, would be the main victims."
Canada and other countries are seeking reparations for victims' families.
Canada does not have formal diplomatic relations with Iran, making the process lengthy and complex.
"From a legal standpoint, they (Canada) lack any authority to conduct a unilateral or arbitrary report or comment on an air crash outside their jurisdiction," Mohsen Baharvand, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
"If this highly politicised and illegal behaviour by Canada became the norm, all countries, even the civil aviation industry, would be the main victims."
Academics, students and a couple that travelled to Iran to get married, are among the 63 Canadians killed when a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran.Read more
On the night of the tragedy, Iran's air defences were on high alert, since it had just attacked a base used by the US military in Iraq in response to the US drone strike five days earlier in Baghdad that had killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Iran's regional strategy.
In its final report released in March, the Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation exonerated the Islamic Republic's armed forces.
Ukraine slammed those findings as a "cynical attempt to hide the real causes" and Canada denounced the "incomplete" report without "hard evidence".
Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said that while the Canadian report found Iran had not premeditated shooting down the plane, it nevertheless "does not get off the hook in any way whatsoever".
"It is totally responsible for what happened due to a combination of incompetence, lack of accountability, a total failure of their command and control system, a total failure to properly assess the risk," he told a press briefing.
"The facts are clear, Iran is responsible for the deaths of 176 innocent people."
ABC/wires
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