Iran quashes claims of missile hitting Ukrainian plane, flags it off as illogical rumours

Iran on Thursday denied the “illogical rumours” claiming that Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran on was hit by a missile. Local media reports quoted the head of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation, Ali Abedzadeh saying that it is scientifically impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane. He shrugged off the claims by terming that as rumours. 

Investigations claim Iranian missile hit Ukranian aircraft 

As per new investigations that have surfaced, US sources report that the Ukraine plane crash could have very well been caused by an Iran Missile that might have hit it accidentally. A Ukrainian aircraft with at least 176 people aboard crashed on January 8 just after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport.

Iran around the same time had fired a series of ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq that housed American troops. While an initial probe suggested that the plane crash was due to technical glitches, media reported that Downing Street is looking into reports suggesting that the Ukrainian jet was shot down by missile instead.  

In Kiev, the Ukrainian presidency said Zelensky invited Britain to join the probe and also called for a "transparent, thorough and objective investigation that can quickly establish the facts of this tragedy".

Read: Iran officials reveal the Ukrainian plane had turned back after detecting the problem 

Read: Iranian missiles could have shot down Ukraine flight by mistake, report US sources

Mystery surrounding the black box 

Sources within the Pentagon in the US also seem to harbour similar concerns. A Pentagon official, a senior US intelligence official and an Iraqi intelligence official told the media that the Ukrainian flight was actually struck by an anti-aircraft missile system.

What was suspicious was that after the Iranian authorities found two black boxes of the crashed Ukraine International Airlines they decided that these would not be handed over to the manufacturer Boeing. A detailed examination of the black box data could help reveal the actual cause of the plane crash.   

(Image Source: AP)

Read: 'Deeply saddened': UN chief condoles death of 176 passengers in Ukrainian plane crash 

Read: Bodies being recovered at site of Iran plane crash