What Iran admitted about Flight 752 by 15 January 2020

How did Iran go from insisting on a mechanical fault to admitting it had shot down a passenger jet? By 15 January 2020, that reversal was already four days old, and its consequences were still unfolding.

Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was a scheduled service from Tehran to Kyiv. On 8 January 2020, the Boeing 737-800 was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shortly after takeoff, killing all 176 people on board.

From denial to admission

On 9 January, officials from the United States, Canada, Britain and Iraq said they believed an Iranian anti-aircraft missile had accidentally brought the plane down. Iran, for its part, attributed the crash to mechanical failure. The same day, a verified video obtained by The New York Times from an Iranian citizen was released, showing the aircraft being struck by what appeared to be a surface-to-air missile.

Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, spoke 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, and he condemned Iran's attack on US bases in Iraq.

On 10 January, after Trudeau suggested an Iranian missile had downed the plane, Iranian authorities rejected the idea. The country's civil aviation chief said he was certain no missile had hit the aircraft and still pointed to mechanical failure.

The position changed on 11 January. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps admitted it had mistakenly shot down the aircraft as it took off from Tehran. Iran's president also officially acknowledged that the country's armed forces had erroneously downed the plane with a missile near the capital.

Vigils turn to protests

The admission was followed on the same day by public anger inside Iran. Vigils held for the victims turned into protests. According to videos posted on Twitter, hundreds of demonstrators in Tehran called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A diplomatic incident

The unrest also touched Iran's relations with Britain. On 11 January, the British ambassador to Iran, Robert Macaire, was arrested after attending a vigil and then, according to the BBC, getting a haircut. Tasnim News Agency reported that he was held on suspicion of organising, provoking and directing radical actions. Britain's Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said the arrest was a flagrant violation of international law. Macaire was released more than an hour later.

Where matters stood on 15 January 2020

By 15 January 2020, the central facts were therefore established by Iran's own acknowledgement: the aircraft had been hit by a missile fired by Iranian forces, and all 176 people aboard had died. The days of official denial, the video evidence and the assessments of Western and Iraqi officials had given way to an admission, and the public reaction in Tehran and the diplomatic row with London had followed within hours of it.