"We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional," the prime minister said in a press conference in
The Iranian government responded to the Canadian prime minister's comments, with spokesman
"All these reports are a psychological warfare against
Trudeau said Canadian officials believe that the supposed shootdown of the airliner "may have been unintentional."
The Canadian prime minister refused to answer questions from reporters about whether
Trudeau said it was "too soon to be apportioning blame" for the crash or "drawing any conclusions" about what happened to the airliner.
"The families of the victims and all Canadians want answers. I want answers. That means closure, transparency, accountability and justice," Trudeau said. "This government will not rest until we get that."
UIA flight PS752, which was headed from
Sixty-three Canadians were aboard the
The plane was also carrying 82 Iranians; 11 Ukrainians, including two passengers and nine crew members; 10 Swedes; four Afghans; three Germans; and three Britons.
The
"It is now more important than ever that we know exactly how such a tragedy could have happened," Trudeau said.
The prime minister said his government asked
"Canadians have questions and they deserve answers," Trudeau said.
The prime minister held his press conference in the capital not long after US President
"It's a tragic thing when I see that, it's a tragic thing. But somebody could have made a mistake on the other side," the US president said.
Earlier in the day,
"Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumors are illogical," Abedzadeh said.
Abedzadeh said eyewitnesses saw the UIA plane "on fire" before it went down and the pilots did not make any emergency calls before attempting to return to the airport.
"Several domestic and foreign flights were flying in Iranian space at the same altitude of 8,000 feet (2,400 meters). The issue of the missile's impact on the aircraft cannot be true in any way," Abedzadeh said.
The
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