Intelligence from "multiple sources" indicates that Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near Tehran this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced.
Reports emerged Thursday that U.S. officials are "confident" that Iran's anti-aircraft missile system shot down the passenger plane that crashed after taking off from Tehran, killing 176 people including at least 63 Canadians. In a news conference on Thursday afternoon, Trudeau confirmed that Canada's intelligence suggests as much.
"We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence," Trudeau said. "The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile."
Trudeau added that "this may well have been unintentional." CBS News previously reported "the plane was believed to have been mistakenly targeted," while CNN reports that "one possibility being considered is that an Iranian missile unit saw something on their radar, thought they were under attack and fired." The new information, Trudeau said, "reinforces the need for a thorough investigation into this matter." Trudeau did not provide further details about the intelligence.
Speaking Thursday at the White House, President Trump said he has "suspicions" about what caused the plane crash and speculated that "somebody could have made a mistake."
Shortly after Trudeau spoke, The New York Times published video apparently showing an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran's airport, with other videos showing that "the plane flew toward the airport ablaze before it exploded and crashed quickly."
BREAKING: Justin Trudeau: "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." https://t.co/0lUcvfqWfZ pic.twitter.com/3et3sP9MtK— ABC News (@ABC) January 9, 2020
