Canada wants big role in Iran crash probe despite lack of diplomatic ties - Trudeau

By Steve Scherer

 

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference about flight PS752 from Tehran to Kiev that crashed shortly after takeoff, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Blair Gable

 

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada expects to play a big role in Iran's probe of an airliner crash that killed 63 Canadians even though the two nations do not have diplomatic ties, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.

 

Trudeau said 138 of the 176 people on board the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 from Tehran to Kiev had onward connections to Canada. All aboard died when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff.

 

Canada broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012. Trudeau said Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne would call his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif later on Wednesday to underline the need for a proper probe of the crash.

 

"Canada is one of a handful of countries with a high degree of expertise when it comes to these sorts of accidents and therefore we have much to contribute," Trudeau said.

 

"I am confident that in our engagement both through our allies and directly, we are going to make sure that we are a substantive contributor to this investigation," he told a news conference in Ottawa.

 

Italy normally acts as a proxy for communication between Canada and Iran, and the Ukrainian ambassador told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp that his government was willing to help.

 

The disaster marked one of the greatest losses of Canadian life in a single day in recent years. Trudeau would not comment on possible causes for the tragedy.

 

"Obviously we are very, very early days on the investigation. It's dangerous to speculate on possible causes," he said.

 

Most of the victims came from Canada's Iranian community. Among the dead were a newlywed couple that had travelled to Iran to get married as well as two professors at the University of Alberta.

 

"Your loss is indescribable and this is a heartbreaking tragedy. While no words will erase your pain, I want you to know that an entire country is with you. We share your grief," Trudeau said to those affected by the crash.

 

Trudeau said he had spoken to a number of world leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump, who expressed his condolences.

 

(Reporting by Steve Scherer, additional reporting by Kelsey Johnson and David Ljunggren; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Shumaker)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-01-09

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Good luck Canada best chance to find out what really happened rip to all the lost and condolences to all affected 

But I read that Iran is refusing to release the two black boxes from the crash.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Canada expects to play a big role in Iran's probe of an airliner crash that killed 63 Canadians even though the two nations do not have diplomatic ties, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.

RIP to the lost souls.....but Trudeau should stop expecting any cooperation from Iran, they were clear on their statements, black boxes will stay in Iran and no westerner country will be allowed to investigate. This sounds very familiar, Vlad (Iran's best friend) said the same thing when they shot down Nederlands/Air Malaysia flight, Russia never gave the black boxes

2 hours ago, anterian said:

But I read that Iran is refusing to release the two black boxes from the crash.

Why should they, and to whom? The country that has dragged Iran from one sanction to the next, and does everything in its might to force "allied" countries to do the exact same - to the point where many articles and medical supplies are kept from a population of 80 million people?

2 hours ago, Mavideol said:

RIP to the lost souls.....but Trudeau should stop expecting any cooperation from Iran, they were clear on their statements, black boxes will stay in Iran and no westerner country will be allowed to investigate. This sounds very familiar, Vlad (Iran's best friend) said the same thing when they shot down Nederlands/Air Malaysia flight, Russia never gave the black boxes

Under the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, of which Iran, Ukraine and the US are all members, air crash investigations are led by the country where the accident occurred.

My condolences for all the lost souls.

Safe to assume a heat-seeking surface to air missile did them in.

5 hours ago, Mavideol said:

RIP to the lost souls.....but Trudeau should stop expecting any cooperation from Iran, they were clear on their statements, black boxes will stay in Iran and no westerner country will be allowed to investigate. This sounds very familiar, Vlad (Iran's best friend) said the same thing when they shot down Nederlands/Air Malaysia flight, Russia never gave the black boxes

Also when the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crashed, the Ethiopians refused to hand over the black boxes to America, sent them to France instead.

2 hours ago, legend49 said:

Under the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, of which Iran, Ukraine and the US are all members, air crash investigations are led by the country where the accident occurred.

Led by, but that does not mean that they are the exclusive preserve of them?

Ukraine has an entirely valid interest in taking part in and having access to the findings, it was their airplane,

Boeing have an entirely valid interest in taking part in and having access to the findings, they made the airplane  quite recently.

Canada has an entirely valid interest in taking part in and having access to the findings, a large number of the dead were Canadian Nationals.

If Iran refuses international access to the inquiry, what then, are there aviation sanctions which could be applied?

At the time when The US drone was down

Iran's government claimed that a low rank anti aircraft made own decisions to shoot and bring it down. He was promoted for his own quick decision without even asking higher ranks. 
Perhaps there are many more anti aircraft operators  looking for the same opportunity to be promoted for quick action without even knowing what they shoot at in sky. 

Good luck with that Trudeau. If I were Iranian (which I am not) I would want to control the narrative here and not want Trudeau who is Trump's poodle sticking his oar disputing my carefully crafted narrative with US lies.

6 hours ago, Mavideol said:

RIP to the lost souls.....but Trudeau should stop expecting any cooperation from Iran, they were clear on their statements, black boxes will stay in Iran and no westerner country will be allowed to investigate. This sounds very familiar, Vlad (Iran's best friend) said the same thing when they shot down Nederlands/Air Malaysia flight, Russia never gave the black boxes

This is totally wrong. The Malaysian Airlines plane went down over Ukraine, not Russia, and the Ukrainians had control of the black boxes. They gave them to the Netherlands.

with a beard, he looks even more like his papa, Fidel Castro

Reported flame post and response removed

9 hours ago, AsiaCheese said:

Why should they, and to whom? The country that has dragged Iran from one sanction to the next, and does everything in its might to force "allied" countries to do the exact same - to the point where many articles and medical supplies are kept from a population of 80 million people?

Sanctions are applied to Iran because of the brutal dictatorship it is under; a dictatorship that kills anybody who protests, such as the 1500 protesters who were shot a few days ago. Also because of the terror and destruction Iran and it's proxies are wreaking across the Middle East, coordinated by the late General Soleimani. 

 

Critics of the dictatorship are saying the sanctions are bringing the people close to the point of revolting against the despicable Ayatollah. 

 

I'm no fan of Trudaeu, but if he upholds the sanctions he gets a yes from me! 

Edited January 9, 20206 yr by CG1 Blue

10 hours ago, CG1 Blue said:

Sanctions are applied to Iran because of the brutal dictatorship it is under; a dictatorship that kills anybody who protests, such as the 1500 protesters who were shot a few days ago. Also because of the terror and destruction Iran and it's proxies are wreaking across the Middle East, coordinated by the late General Soleimani. 

 

Critics of the dictatorship are saying the sanctions are bringing the people close to the point of revolting against the despicable Ayatollah. 

 

I'm no fan of Trudaeu, but if he upholds the sanctions he gets a yes from me! 

I see, the US propaganda worked well on you. Hook, line, sinker and CNN. Could I interest you in some articles about harvesting organs, concentration camps in western China, or maybe Brooklyn Bridge that's for sale?

8 hours ago, AsiaCheese said:

I see, the US propaganda worked well on you. Hook, line, sinker and CNN. Could I interest you in some articles about harvesting organs, concentration camps in western China, or maybe Brooklyn Bridge that's for sale?

I'd say you're the one falling for the propaganda