Tehran Plane Crash: Reports Ukrainian Airliner Shot Down By Iranian Missile ‘Very Concerning’, Says Johnson

Downing Street has said it is looking into “very concerning” reports that the Ukraine airliner that crashed in Iran was shot down by a missile.

Boris Johnson has called for a “full, credible and transparent investigation” into what caused the disaster as it was claimed the plane was accidentally brought down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, according to two Pentagon officials and an Iraqi intelligence official.

Newsweek reported the flight that crashed just outside Tehran late on Tuesday was struck by the Russia-built Tor-M1 system also known as Gauntlet.

The two Pentagon officials told the magazine that the tragedy was accidental.

Reuters also cited US officials as it reported the plane was most likely brought down accidentally by Iranian air defences.

One US official said US satellites had detected the launch of two missiles shortly before the plane crashed, followed by evidence of an explosion.

Two officials said Washington believed the downing of the plane was accidental.

The Associated Press quoted two US officials saying it is “highly likely” an Iranian anti-aircraft missile brought down the passenger plane.

The crash occurred soon after Iran launched missiles at military bases housing US troops in neighbouring Iraq amid a confrontation with Washington over the drone strike that killed an Iranian general last week.

The Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737-800, flying to Kiev and carrying mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians, crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport, killing all 176 people on board.

Three British people were among the dead.

On Thursday, a Downing Street spokesperson said prime minister Johnson  pushed for the facts to be established in a phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The spokesperson said: “The prime minister said that there needed to be a full, credible and transparent investigation into what happened.

“The prime minister underlined the UK’s continued commitment to Ukrainian sovereignty and the leaders agreed to continue working together to strengthen the bilateral relationship between our two countries.”

Asked whether there were any concerns about the cause of the disaster, the spokesman said: “I’m not going to speculate on this but the reports we have seen are very concerning and we are urgently looking into them.”

US president Donald Trump suggested he believes Iran was responsible and would not directly lay the blame on Iran, but dismissed their claims that it was a mechanical issue – and denied any US responsibility.

“Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side,” Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a “pretty rough neighbourhood”.

“Some people say it was mechanical,” Trump added. “I personally don’t think that’s even a question.”

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