Canada’s Trudeau, careful not to blame Trump, cites US tensions with Iran in plane crash
- Ukrainian Boeing 737 was shot down by a missile shortly after taking off from Tehran last Wednesday, killing all 176 on board
- US-Iran tensions soared since January 3 US drone strike that killed a top Iranian commander
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the victims of the Ukrainian jetliner shot down by a missile that killed 176 people including 57 Canadians would be alive right now if tensions had not escalated in the region.
Trudeau has been careful to avoid blaming US President Donald Trump for the deaths of the passengers after Trump ordered the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top general, in a US air strike in Baghdad.
“If there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families. This is something that happens when you have conflict and the war. Innocents bear the brunt of it,” Trudeau said in an interview with Global News Television.
Some Canadians including a leading corporate leader in the country blame Trump in part for the deaths. Trudeau has spoken to Trump.
“I’ve talked about the tremendous grief and loss that Canadians are feeling and the need for clear answers on how this happened and how we’re going to make sure it never happens again,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau added that he would have “obviously” liked a warning before Trump ordered the killing of the Iranian general. Canada has troops in Iraq as part of a Nato training mission.