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Who downed Flight 752? Iran's denials on 10 January
Summary
A look back at the day Iranian officials rejected claims that a missile had brought down the Kyiv-bound Ukraine International Airlines jet.
What did the world know about the loss of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on 10 January 2020, and who was willing to say it out loud? The Boeing 737-800, flying from Tehran to Kyiv, had come down shortly after takeoff on 8 January, killing all 176 people on board.
On 10 January, Iran's civil aviation chief said he was certain the aircraft had not been hit by a missile. He maintained that the cause was mechanical failure. The statement was a direct answer to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had suggested the plane was downed by an Iranian missile.
A cautious opening position
Trudeau's stance had been measured the day before. At a news conference on 9 January, he said it was too early to draw definitive conclusions that the downing was an act of war. In the same appearance he condemned Iran's attack on U.S. bases in Iraq.
The two statements show a gap that defined 10 January. Ottawa was pointing towards a missile while stopping short of firm conclusions about intent. Tehran, for its part, was ruling out a missile altogether and sticking to a technical explanation.
What the denial meant at the time
The Iranian position on 10 January was categorical, and it rested on the assertion of mechanical failure rather than on any evidence presented in the public reports. The dispute therefore stood as a contest of claims between a foreign government leader and Iran's aviation authority.
Later, background accounts established that the aircraft had been shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. That was not the established position on 10 January, when Iran's official line was still a flat rejection of the missile theory. The day is best understood as the point at which the first public accusation met the first formal denial.
