Calls for justice as 3rd anniversary of downing of flight Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 approaches
Global News
On Jan. 8, 2020, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot the plane down shortly after takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 passengers and crew aboard.
Sunday will mark the three-year anniversary of the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, and for Surrey’s Shahrokh Ferdowsi the pain is still raw.
On Jan. 8, 2020, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot the plane down shortly after takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 passengers and crew aboard.
Fifty-five Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents died in the disaster, including Ferdowsi’s cousin, Dr. Farhad Niknam, a Toronto dentist returning home from a Christmas visit with his wife and children in Iran.
“I really miss him, I miss his voice, I miss his presence, I wish he was here,” Ferdowsi told Global News through tears.
“The only thing that they found of his belongings was a pouch he had around his waist and a photo album.”
The photo album was turned to a page with pictures of Niknam’s children.
The final report from Iran’s civil aviation body blamed “human error” for the incident claiming a missile operator misidentified the airliner as a “hostile target” amid rising tensions with the U.S., and fired without getting approval from a superior — a report criticized victim’s families worldwide.
The plane was destroyed after being struck by two missiles fired 30 seconds apart.
A survey found a majority of Canadians want Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to lose his claim to the throne, while 51 per cent say the Royal Family is not relevant to them personally.
PST, the Norwegian police security service, called in additional personnel following the incident but has not changed the country's terror threat level.
Israel's military has so far killed about 200 Hezbollah militants, spokesman Nadav Shoshani said in an online briefing. Hezbollah has not published a toll for its fighters.
Canadians are returning home from the Middle East as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions disrupt travel and rattle global energy markets.
Iran's president apologized Saturday for attacks even as its missiles and drones flew toward Gulf Arab states. He also rejected Donald Trump's repeated demands for surrender.
The U.S. says it has stuck a new agreement to provide up to US$20 billion in reinsurance coverage to 'restore confidence in maritime trade' amid the Iran war.
Leavitt also said Washington was looking at potential candidates to lead Iran, a day after Trump said that the U.S. must be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran.
Canada has arranged a chartered flight departing from the UAE, which has the highest number of Canadians registered in the region, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said.
Carignan said a meeting is set for early Friday morning to discuss such a proposal among allied militaries and that a recommendation would be presented to the government.
As the Iran conflict jeopardizes global oil and gas supplies, Canada's energy and resource sector may be able to offset some of these impacts and see benefits to the economy.
South Korea's chip industry, which supplies around two-thirds of global memory chips, is also concerned that a prolonged conflict in Iran will lead to higher energy costs.
Iran launched a new wave of attacks against Israel, American bases and countries around the region Thursday, while warning the U.S. and calling for “Trump’s blood.”
An Iranian warship that was sunk by a U.S. submarine near Sri Lanka had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading out into international waters.