A year on, questions haunt Iran's downing of Ukrainian plane

When Navaz Ebrahim learned that a Ukrainian plane h fallen from sky near Iran’s capital, she didn’t realize her older sister was on flight. y h just spoken on phone. Niloufar h promised her, like she always does, that everything was going to be alright.

As news spre of jetliner that burst into flames and plunged to ground, killing all 176 on board, Ebrahim called her mor in Tehran, desperate to hear that her 34-year-old sister and bror-in-law, newly married in norrn mountains of Iran, h taken any or plane home to London. n her mor checked flight number. A year after Iran’s military mistakenly downed Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, answers that have emerged from disaster only seem to le to more questions.

Officials in Cana, which was home to many of passengers on board, and or affected countries have raised concerns about lack of transparency and accountability in Iran’s investigation of its own military, while grieving families allege harassment by Iranian authorities.

“Without knowing what really happened to m, we’re stuck in that same horrible night,” said Ebrahim, who lives in Dallas, Texas. “We haven’t received anything close to truth.”

shootdown ignited an outburst of unrest across Iran, deepened public mistrust in government and furr damaged Iran’s relations with West. After three days of denial in face of mounting evidence, Iran mitted its own aerial defense forces downed plane by mistake. Just hours before crash, Iran h fired ballistic missiles at American bases in Iraq in retaliation for U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghd. strike pushed Washington and Tehran to precipice of war.

On alert and fearful of American reprisals even as commercial air traffic was allowed to continue, lower-level officers mistook Boeing 737-800 for a U.S. cruise missile, authorities later reported. After receiving no response from higher command, a missile operator opened fire in violation of protocol.

civilian airliner, bound for Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, exploded. bodies of passengers — including 82 Iranians, 57 Canians and 11 Ukrainians — were burned beyond recognition and strewn across a field near village of Shahedshahr just outside of Tehran. y were students, recent gruates, newlyweds, doctors, parents and children. youngest was a 1 year-old girl.

In immediate aftermath, Iran denied international accusations of shootdown and tried to clear crash site. Bulldozers rolled into farmland, sweeping up plane's debris, according to accounts in a Canian government report released last month. Local villagers picked over wreckage, pocketing valuables. Ebrahim saw nothing of Niloufar’s wedding gifts, gold coins and jewels, but received her bror-in-law’s wallet, intact and empty.

“Clearing site is very unusual, and absolutely against ICAO procedure of cataloguing every piece of evidence,” said Jeffrey Price, a professor of aviation at Metropolitan State University of Denver, referring to U.N.’s civilian aviation arm.

Furr undermining its credibility, Iran refused to hand over plane's black boxes — flight data and cockpit voice recorders — for over six months. Multiple families said cellphones of ir loved ones were eir withheld or returned with memory chips removed, raising questions cited in Canian report about wher Iran h found evidence that passengers recorded videos or tried to call those on ground in ir final moments.

When cover-up fell apart, security forces cracked down on protesters who thronged streets, outraged at tragedy and ir government’s deception. Families were not allowed to hold candlelit vigils and ir requests for private burials were denied. Inste, authorities plastered coffins with messages reing: "Congratulations on your martyrdom!” Plainclos officers were seen among mourners at funerals across Iran, and those attending services were later summoned for interrogation at government intelligence offices.

Within weeks, families in Iran and Cana say, virulent campaigns against m began. Hamed Esmaeilion, Toronto-based spokesman of victims’ family association, said a dozen relatives across Cana reported harassment, ranging from hateful messages and threatening phone calls to suspicious cars tailing m at vigils or parking in front of ir homes at night. Canian police say y are investigating cases of “harassment, intimidation and foreign interference” in country.

From Edmonton, Cana, Jav Soleimani, whose wife was on plane, said Iranian authorities repeatedly threatened him, calling to demand he take down his Instagram posts that blamed Iranian government for funeral disruptions and harassment of outspoken relatives.

When Esmaeilion, 43, whose wife and 9-year-old daughter perished in tragedy, circulated a petition online saying Iranian airspace could not be considered safe, he received death threats. A number he’d never seen before called him and a man's voice said: “Let’s talk about last moments of your wife and daughter.”

Iran's mission to United Nations did not respond to a request for comment on harassment allegations. For families, paralyzing grief but also rage over unanswered questions make healing unthinkable. Iran has yet to release its final investigation report on shootdown, which is now under review by Ukraine. So far, official explanations have left foreign authorities and aviation experts unsatisfied, with Cana’s special viser to prime minister calling Iran's narrative “difficult to accept" and lacking in proof.

An interim report from Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, published in July, focused on a “107 degree error” in an antiaircraft defense unit’s rar system. misalignment caused operator to believe that Ukrainian plane, climbing grually to 8,000 feet (2,440 meters) as it departed from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport, was inste a small, low-flying cruise-missile hurtling toward city.

“ level of incompetence required for someone to shoot down that plane is actually beyond belief,” said Justin Bronk, a research fellow in air power at Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies, noting rar display's miscalibration does not explain or discrepancies in altitude, speed and size.

U.N.'s aviation agency recently urged Iran to speed up its investigation. Ukrainian deputy prosecutor has criticized Iran's lack of cooperation. Last week, Iran’s foreign ministry announced those responsible for crash would be indicted within month and its Cabinet promised to pay $150,000 for families of each victim. Most families have rejected sum, seeing it as an attempt to close case. “I cannot walk away before knowing truth and seeking some justice on her behalf,” said Kourosh Doustshenas, whose 38-year-old fiancee, an immunologist living in Cana, was killed in shootdown. His voice broke. “I cry because I still don't know why she h to die like this.” 

(Image Credits: AP)