Iranian civil aviation authorities rejected reports that the Ukrainian passenger jet departing Tehran was shot down by a missile, calling them 'illogical rumors'.
"Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumours are illogical," Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's of Civil Aviation Organization, said on Thursday, according to the news agency ISNA.
Citing anonymous Pentagon and intelligence officials, US media have reported that the Boeing 737 was “highly likely” brought down by Iranian air defenses. The Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752 crashed within minutes of departing Tehran, just hours after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired two volleys of missiles at US targets inside Iraq, as reprisal for last week’s assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.
Even US President Donald Trump seemed to speculate about a missile in a speech on Thursday, though did not blame the Iranian military but said that “somebody could have made a mistake.”
A preliminary Iranian report suggested that the plane caught fire and tried to turn around before crashing. Ukrainian authorities are investigating whether a terrorist attack or surface-to-air missile brought down the airliner. All 176 people on board were killed, including 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians.
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