Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Iran must take full responsibility for mistakenly shooting down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 civilians on board, including 57 Canadians.
At an afternoon news conference in Ottawa, Trudeau said that accountability must include a creditable investigation and compensation for the families of the dead.
B次元官网网址淭his is a tragedy that should not have happened,B次元官网网址 the prime minister said.
B次元官网网址淪hooting down a civilian aircraft is horrific. Iran must take full responsibility,B次元官网网址 he said.
B次元官网网址淚 am, of course, outraged and furious that families across this country are grieving the loss of their loved ones; that the Iranian-Canadian community is suffering so greatly; that all Canadians are shocked and appalled at this senseless loss of life.B次元官网网址
TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 news conference came after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged Saturday that an Iranian missile took down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752.
Rouhani, who spoke with Trudeau over the phone Saturday, posted on Twitter that an Iranian military investigation concluded B次元官网网址渕issiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash.B次元官网网址
The admission came a day after Iran denied claims being made by Canada, Britain and the United States that the plane was shot down by Iran, possibly accidentally.
In addition to the 57 Canadian citizens on the plane, dozens more were bound for Canada, many of them students and professors returning after spending the December break visiting relatives in Iran.
Rouhani said investigations will continue to B次元官网网址渋dentify and prosecute this great tragedy and unforgivable mistake.B次元官网网址
READ MORE: Iran admits it shot down Ukrainian plane by mistake, killing 176 aboard
B次元官网网址淢y thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淚 offer my sincerest condolences.B次元官网网址
Nadia Eghbali, whose aunt, uncle and eight-year-old cousin died in the crash, said it was hard to process all of her emotions after hearing the Iranian government admit that they accidentally shot the plane down.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e in complete shock, weB次元官网网址檙e full of so much emotion. ThereB次元官网网址檚 anger, thereB次元官网网址檚 so many things, we just donB次元官网网址檛 know why this happened,B次元官网网址 said Eghbali. B次元官网网址淎t a time like this, they needed to stop all flights. It should have been stopped to prevent anything like this.B次元官网网址
Nina Saeidpour, whose friend Kasra Saati died in the crash, said IranB次元官网网址檚 admission stirred up B次元官网网址渕ixed emotions.B次元官网网址 Saeidpour, from Calgary, said Saati had travelled to Iran over the holidays for a reunion with his wife and two children.
B次元官网网址淚n some ways we are happy that our government just came forward and said that they did it instead of hiding everything. On the other hand everybody is again in shock about why such a thing should happen,B次元官网网址 Saeidpour said.
Officials from Global Affairs Canada and investigators from the Transportation Safety Board were waiting to get access to Iran so they can both be part of the investigation and provide consular services to families of Canadian victims. Trudeau said three visas had been issued so far and the first members of the team were expected to be on the ground in Iran within the day.
The planeB次元官网网址檚 downing came hours after Iran launched missile attacks at two military bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq. Those attacks were retaliation for the U.S. killing of IranB次元官网网址檚 top general, Qassem Soleimani, in an American airstrike in Baghdad on Jan. 3.
A military statement delivered on Iranian state television said the civilian airliner was mistaken for a B次元官网网址渉ostile targetB次元官网网址 when it turned toward a sensitive military site belonging to IranB次元官网网址檚 Revolutionary Guard, an elite unit of the countryB次元官网网址檚 military.
IranB次元官网网址檚 Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif still pointed some blame towards the Americans, saying on Twitter, B次元官网网址渉uman error at time of crisis caused by U.S. adventurism led to disaster.B次元官网网址
Trudeau said accidents like the downing of the plane are what happen when tension is high and he said things need to calm down in the region.
B次元官网网址淭he reality is there have been significant tensions in that region for a long time and what we are calling for now is a de-escalation to ensure that there are no more tragic accidents,B次元官网网址 he said.
UkraineB次元官网网址檚 president said Iran must issue an official apology and also called for compensation for the disaster. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine expects a B次元官网网址渇ull and open investigation, bringing the perpetrators to justice.B次元官网网址
The dead also included citizens of Iran, Ukraine, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan and Germany. Champagne said Canada is leading the group of nations to advocate with B次元官网网址渙ne single voice.B次元官网网址
B次元官网网址 with files from Salmaan Farooqui in Toronto, Chris Reynolds in Montreal and The Associated Press
Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press
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