Iran, Ukrainian Boeing crashed. Tehran: "Certain that Ukrainian Boeing not hit by missile"

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• Iran, Ukrainian Boeing crashed. Tehran: "Certain that Ukrainian Boeing not hit by missile"

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"One thing is certain: this plane was not hit by a missile." The president of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization, Ali Abedzadeh, reiterated this morning in a press conference, denying allegations that the Ukrainian Boeing crashed at dawn on Wednesday in Tehran was shot down by mistake by an Iranian rocket. Iran invites Boeing technicians to participate in the investigation of the plane, Tehran government spokesman Ali Rabiei announced. The Islamic Republic had denied the delivery of black boxes to Boeing and the USA. "We welcome the participation of all countries that lost their citizens in the accident," added the Tehran spokesman, defining the accusations that the plane was accidentally hit by a "fraudulent" Iranian missile and speaking of a "psychological operation by the United States government and those who knowingly or unknowingly support it".

Supporting the missile thesis is the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, citing intelligence sources after the suspicion that the disaster of the Boeing 737-800 of Ukrainian International Airlines, which killed 176 people, was growing stronger today including 63 Canadians - had not been caused by a technical problem, but by an impact in flight.

Advanced by the Kiev authorities and relaunched by American and Iraqi intelligence sources, the version was not excluded even by Donald Trump. "Someone may have made a mistake. I have a suspicion of what happened," said the American president, in the midst of tensions with the Islamic Republic.

But for Tehran the "rumors" about the collision with a rocket are "meaningless".

Zelensky, I will talk to Pompeo about the air tragedy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he intends to discuss with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing air tragedy that crashed on January 8 shortly after taking off from Tehran airport. The agencies report it. The plane may have been shot down by mistake by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile, but Tehran rejects the accusations.

Tehran denies "meaningless voices"
According to Civil Aviation Officer and Deputy Minister of Transportation Ali Abedzadeh, "several domestic and international flights were flying into Iranian airspace at the same time at the same altitude" and had no problems. "The plane, which initially headed east to leave the airport area, veered to the right due to a problem and was returning to the airport at the time of the accident," say Tehran experts.

France ready to make "skills" available
France is ready to make its technical expertise available in the investigation into the plane crash of the Ukrainian Boeing, in Tehran, if the Iranian authorities make a request to do so. This was announced by Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. "France is available to provide the necessary skills," said the head of French diplomacy, interviewed by the RTL broadcaster. The manager of Quai d'Orsay however specified that "at the moment" there has been no request in this regard.

Stockholm calls for "quick and transparent" investigation
Sweden joins the requests for a "rapid, complete and transparent" investigation into the disaster of the Ukrainian plane in the skies of Tehran which, according to some reconstructions, may have been shot down accidentally by the Iranian anti-aircraft. This was said by Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, discussing the matter late Thursday evening with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The two leaders, Lofven said in a statement, agreed on the need for "the countries involved to be allowed to contribute with national experts and to be granted full access to the investigation".

Iran asks Canada for intelligence information on the plane
Iran has asked Canada to provide its information on the plane. An official statement reports this. The Iranian foreign ministry also invited Boeing to "participate" in the investigation into the incident. The United States will participate in investigations of the invitation from the Iranian authorities. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced this.

But the shadows remain heavy, also because the Islamic Republic continues to deny the black boxes to Boeing, limiting itself to saying that if it were necessary for the investigations it would turn to France or other countries.

On the New York Times website, the video of the moment the plane is hit , a few seconds after the crash. The site specifies that the checks made on the video matched the position, altitude and direction of the Ukrainian plane at the time of the disaster and that further details are on the way.

NEW: Video @trbrtc obtained confirmedms Ukrainian airliner was hit. We verified location, altitude & direction matches path of # PS752. Verification details coming. https://t.co/27htZ0syZT