Defending the Revolutionary Guards after they shot down Flight PS752 and Iran denied it for three days
After the Revolutionary Guards shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 near Tehran in January 2020, killing all 176 people on board, Iranian officials denied responsibility for three days. Khamenei then used his first Friday sermon in eight years to defend the Guards, and he was named among the defendants in an Ontario case that found the downing an act of terrorism.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Flight PS752 shot down; officials initially deny it - Reuters reported that the Ukrainian airliner crashed minutes after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport, hours after Iran fired missiles at US bases in Iraq, killing all 176 people on board. Iranian officials initially denied that a missile was involved. Iran says military shot down plane in error after denial drew scrutiny abroad
- Iran admits the 'unintentional' downing after three days - BBC News reported that after three days Iran's military admitted the plane had been shot down 'unintentionally'. Reuters, citing Fars news agency, reported that Khamenei was informed on the Friday and called for a public statement, while the IRGC (@sepah___fa) aerospace commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said he had informed authorities on the day of the crash. Iran's Guards knew missile to blame on day Ukraine plane crashed
- Friday sermon defends the Guards after protests over the downing - Reuters and BBC News reported that in his first Friday sermon since 2012, after protests over the downing and the cover-up, Khamenei defended the Revolutionary Guards and said 'our enemies were as happy about the plane crash as we were sad'. Iran's Khamenei says Revolutionary Guards 'protect' country
- Ontario court rules the downing was an act of terrorism - CBC News and Reuters reported that Ontario's Superior Court ruled in a default judgment that the shooting down of Flight PS752 was intentional and 'an act of terrorism'. The defendants included Iran, its armed forces, the IRGC and Ali Khamenei, and Iran did not defend itself in court. Canadian court finds Iran liable for downed Ukrainian plane