Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has faulted the preliminary investigation Iran carried out on the crash of the Ukrainian jetliner on Wednesday.
He affirmed Canadian intelligence sources that revealed that it was actually Iran’s surface-to-air missile that shot down the aircraft, killing the 176 people on board, among them were 63 Canadians.
Although he added the strike “may have been unintentional”.
“We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa.
“This may well have been unintentional.”
Some US officials had earlier said it was “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed the plane.
Iran had dismissed those reports as “illogical rumours.”
Its investigators released an initial report on Thursday that said the airliner was on fire and tried turning back but its crew never made a radio call for help.
The ill-fated plan was bound for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, but crashed minutes after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran on Wednesday.
Iran coincidentally concluded its show of force—a barrage of 15 missiles—against Smilitary basesin Iraq that morning.