Furor in Iran and Abroad After Tehran Admits Downing Ukrainian Jetliner

[Dennis Donovan]

Source: NYT

By Anton Troianovski, Andrew E. Kramer and Farnaz Fassihi
Jan. 11, 2020
Updated 2:23 p.m. ET

KYIV, Ukraine — Iran’s stunning admission that its forces errantly downed a Ukrainian jetliner — reversing three days of denial — did little to quell growing fury inside the country and beyond on Saturday as the deadly tragedy turned into a volatile political crisis for Tehran’s leaders and overshadowed their struggle with the United States.

Ukrainian officials criticized Iran’s conduct, suggesting that the Iranians would not have admitted responsibility if investigators from Ukraine had not found evidence of a missile strike in the wreckage of the crash, which killed all 176 people aboard.

Protests erupted in Tehran and other Iranian cities as dumbfounded citizens found a new reason to mistrust Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader and other officials. Protest videos even showed some shouting “Khamenei is a murderer!” and anti-riot police tear-gassing violent demonstrators.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, in his first reaction to Iran’s announcement, said his country would “insist on a full admission of guilt” by Tehran.

Contradictions and miscues complicated Iran’s message even as it took responsibility for the disaster. Iran’s military, in its initial admission early Saturday, said the flight’s crew had taken a sharp, unexpected turn that brought it near a sensitive military base — an assertion that was immediately disputed by the Ukrainians.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/world/middleeast/furor-in-iran-and-abroad-after-tehran-admits-downing-ukrainian-jetliner.html

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More here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212861948

[Traildogbob]

1. Iran, if you are listening

We welcome you do divert some of that rage towards Sean Hannity who was on air prior to the strike announcing American war plans were inbound to hit targets. You will be seen as liberators.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. A massive, bulky passenger plane taking a sharp, unexpected turn? Yeah, right. These planes ...

aren't military aircraft nor easy to maneuver or make turns rapidly. Unbelievable.

But, part of the blames goes to rump for starting the whole mess with his irresponsible and not justified to our satisfaction the rationale for killing the Iranian general w/ a drone attack.

My heart goes out to the victims of this horrible, tragic event. The blame we all know who it belongs to.

[Dennis Donovan]

13. They're as bad at lying as the Trump admin is about why they whacked Soleimani n/t

[rickyhall]

3. The IMPOTUS is ultimately responsible along with that dick at Fox Lies

[BadGimp]

4. Any chance the plane was masked to appear as a cruise missle?

asking for a friend...

[EX500rider]

5. Sure....

....if you know any cruise missiles that fly climbing at 8,000 ft and 270 knots while lit up like a Christmas tree on the flight path out of a civilian airport...otherwise, no.

[Sapient Donkey]

6. How would that work?

[Dennis Donovan]

7. No. This is merely a tragic accident. n/t

[sarisataka]

12. Assuming the question is asked in good faith

Tell your friend no, there is no chance it appeared as a cruise missile.

[EX500rider]

14. Tell your friend...

US cruise missiles fly below 150ft at around 480 kts.....not 8,000ft at 270knts in a climb.

[hack89]

15. Cruise missiles are really small compared to airliners - so no. Nt

[IronLionZion]

23. A festering pile of shit was masked to appear as a president

Any American cruise missile would come from a ship in the Persian Gulf, not from Tehran's own damn airport. Some idiot made a catastrophic mistake and should be prosecuted for it.

[dware]

24. Also, cruise missiles

are not air to air, they're air to ground.

And you are right, the idiot that ordered the launch should be prosecuted, if he's not already dead.

[dware]

25. No chance at all.

Also, a cruise missile is air to ground, not air to air.

[NCProgressive]

8. Americans downed an Iranian plane in the 80s

and there was no furor. The excuse was - a gunfight was going on.

[Dennis Donovan]

10. There was a great deal of furor in Iran over it. n/t

[NCProgressive]

16. But not in the rest of the world

[obamanut2012]

21. Absolutely not true -- it was all over the news, all over the world

And furor from many quarters.

WRONG.

[dware]

22. Not true at all,

it was heard all over the world, don't know where you were at the time, but unless you were under a rock, then you should have heard about it.

[patphil]

9. War has a nasty habit of creating havoc, and unintended consequences.

I hope both nations demonstrate restraint in the light of this terrible mistake.

Perhaps if Trump had not chosen to trash the treaty with Iran and reimpose economic sanctions it wouldn't have gotten to this point.
Perhaps if Iran had not chosen to support terrorist groups outside their borders it wouldn't have gotten to this point.
Unfortunately both countries have a lot to be blamed for here.

And now we have 176 dead. War is hell.

Patrick Phillips

[Dennis Donovan]

11. Live tweets from Farnaz Fassihi in Tehran

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Maxheader]

17. Iran, you realize that..

tourism there will probably take a hit..Pity for the crash victims and familys...

[Dennis Donovan]

19. Protests continue to grow - tear gas being used against protesters

Link to tweet

(previous post deleted due to deleted tweet)

[Aussie105]

20. People just doing their job . . .

Trump, distracting from impeachment.

Hannity, scare mongering with vague stories of B52 s in the air, heading for Iran.

Aircraft controllers, trying to keep flights to a schedule.

A SAM operator, with a twitchy trigger finger.

Airline passengers, trusting the airline, the controllers, the alert levels.

All just doing their own thing.

End result? Anyone mention 'collateral damage'?

Not the first time this scenario has played out. Last time, a BUK operator mistook a commercial airliner for a Russian transport plane.

[itcfish]

26. They would have been more

Believable if they said, we don't know yet what happened, we are still investigating. How difficult would that have been?