Iran denies missile downed plane, demands data from US and Canada

Canada’s Justin Trudeau said ‘multiple’ intelligence sources indicate aircraft was shot down by surface-to-air missile, while US officials cited satellite data

Tehran said recovering data from the black box flight recorders could take more than a month and that the entire probe could stretch into 2021

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Rescue teams work amid the debris after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:26am, 10 Jan 2020Updated: 11:56pm, 10 Jan 2020

Iran on Friday denied Western allegations a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed outside Tehran was brought down by an Iranian missile and called on the US and Canada to share any information they have on the crash, which killed all 176 people on board.

Western leaders said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a surface-to-air missile near Tehran, just hours after Iran launched a series of ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general in an American air strike last week.

“What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane,” Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran’s national aviation department, told a press conference.

“If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world” in accordance with international standards, he added.

Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of Iranian investigation team on Friday told the same press conference that recovering data from the black box flight recorders could take more than a month and that the entire investigation could stretch into next year.

He also said Iran may request help from international experts if it is not able to extract the flight recordings.