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What did Iran admit about Flight 752?
Summary
A look back at the days around 15 January 2020, after Iran acknowledged that its forces had shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet near Tehran.
What had Iran been saying about the loss of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, and how quickly did that change? By 15 January 2020, the account given in the first days after the crash had been overturned.
The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Tehran to Kyiv when it was shot down shortly after takeoff on 8 January 2020. All 176 people aboard were killed.
From "mechanical failure" to admission
On 9 January, U.S., Canadian, British and Iraqi officials said they believed an Iranian anti-aircraft missile had likely brought the plane down accidentally. Iran attributed the crash to "mechanical failure". The same day, the New York Times released a verified video obtained from an Iranian citizen that showed the plane being struck by what appeared to be a surface-to-air missile. Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said it was too early to draw definitive conclusions that the downing was an "act of war".
On 10 January, after Trudeau suggested an Iranian missile was responsible, Iran's civil aviation chief said he was "certain" no missile had hit the plane and still pointed to mechanical failure.
On 11 January, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps admitted it had mistakenly shot the plane down. Iran's president officially acknowledged that the country's armed forces had erroneously hit the aircraft with a missile near Tehran.
Vigils turn to protests
The same day, vigils held in Iran for the victims turned into protests. According to videos on Twitter, hundreds of protesters in Tehran called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Also on 11 January, the British ambassador to Iran, Robert Macaire, was arrested after attending a vigil. Tasnim News Agency said he was held on suspicion of organising, provoking and directing radical actions. U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the arrest a flagrant violation of international law. Macaire was released more than an hour later.
