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| Iran plane crash: Ukraine says it has obtained 'important data' – live | Iran plane crash: Ukraine says it has obtained 'important data' – live |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss investigation with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo | Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss investigation with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo |
| Iranian officials gave a press conference on Friday giving more details of their investigation and continuing to rebuff allegations the Ukrainian aircraft was shot down. “If [intelligence agencies] have findings with scientific support they should show this to the world,” Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation, told reporters. | |
| He said he had watched a video clip purporting to show the plane being hit by a missile before crashing to the ground but said “this cannot be confirmed from the scientific perspective”. | |
| He said the pilot had been in contact with the control tower two minutes prior to the accident, asking if he could ascend to 26,000 feet. After the fire broke out, the crew would have been consumed with “saving the plane”, he said, and so would not have been able to communicate further to explain what had gone wrong. | |
| “We have to look for the cause of the fire,” Abedzadeh said. | |
| Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of the committee that oversees aviation accidents in Iran, said that contrary to earlier claims that the black boxes appeared to have been damaged by the crash, both appeared to be intact. | |
| “We prefer to extract the data and download the data inside the country,” he said. “But if we come to the conclusion that the data may be damaged then we will carry out the process [overseas].” | |
| Investigators would attempt to extract and analyse the black-box data on Friday, he added, but said the findings might take one or two months to be released. | |
| The Iranian Ambassador to the UK, Hamid Baeidinejad, has urged the west – including the UK – to stop politicising the inquiry into the Ukraine plane crash by rushing to premature judgement about its causes without hard evidence. He said such judgements merely caused pain for the families of the bereaved, including many Iranians. | |
| In an hour long briefing, he also insisted that the Iranian government was allowing US government officials, as well as Boeing experts, to join the investigation in Tehran, saying “we are fully committed to have a conclusive report on the reasons for the incident with experts on the ground from concerned countries”. | |
| But he said he was “disappointed that some countries including the UK, which do not have hard evidence without access to the black box, the voice recordings, air plane wreckage and the technical engineers reports in Tehran airport, are rushing to judgement. That only adds to the anxiety of the families”. | |
| He said it was not true that the crash site was being bulldozed, although the bodies, including Iranians, may be being collected from the site. | |
| Baeidinejad promised a full transparent and technical report, pointing out that Iran wanted to know the cause of the crash as much as any other country. He added that the black box and voice recordings would now be available to the experts, saying some media reporting about refusing to give others access to the box was based on unsubstantiated claims. | |
| He insisted no Iranian missile was triggered at the time the Ukrainian plane was taking off from the airport around 6am, adding that Tehran’s safety and security authorities are capable of distinguishing between a military and civilian aircraft. “The speed and height of a passenger airline is quite different from a missile or a fighter jet,” he claimed. He said the Iranian radar could distinguish any threat in the air. | |
| “The plane was only 5 minutes in the air at 8,000 feet, and had requested permission to go to more than 20,000 feet. Our experts have announced that the plane was suffering a fire for more than a minute.” | |
| The TASS news agency reports that one of Russia’s deputy foreign ministers, Sergei Ryabkov, has said that Moscow currently sees no grounds to blame Iran for the crash of a Ukrainian airliner near Tehran, contradicting statements by Canada’s prime minister and others. | The TASS news agency reports that one of Russia’s deputy foreign ministers, Sergei Ryabkov, has said that Moscow currently sees no grounds to blame Iran for the crash of a Ukrainian airliner near Tehran, contradicting statements by Canada’s prime minister and others. |
| Ryabkov called on senior world officials to refrain from public statements until more details are known about the causes of the crash. | Ryabkov called on senior world officials to refrain from public statements until more details are known about the causes of the crash. |
| Germanys Lufthansa airline says it and subsidiaries are cancelling flights to and from Tehran for the next 10 days as a precautionary measure, the Associated Press is reporting. | Germanys Lufthansa airline says it and subsidiaries are cancelling flights to and from Tehran for the next 10 days as a precautionary measure, the Associated Press is reporting. |
| The airline said the decision was due to the “unclear security situation” for the airspace around Tehran airport after the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752. | The airline said the decision was due to the “unclear security situation” for the airspace around Tehran airport after the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752. |
| Other airlines have been making changes to avoid Iranian airspace. Alitalia, which hasn’t had flights to Iran since December 2018, says its flights to New Delhi and the Maldives are using alternate routes to those which usually fly over Iran and Iraq. | Other airlines have been making changes to avoid Iranian airspace. Alitalia, which hasn’t had flights to Iran since December 2018, says its flights to New Delhi and the Maldives are using alternate routes to those which usually fly over Iran and Iraq. |
| The investigative journalism website Bellingcat is responding to reports that the site of the plane crash is being cleared by bulldozers by compiling an interactive map of the scene, using pictures and videos shared online. | The investigative journalism website Bellingcat is responding to reports that the site of the plane crash is being cleared by bulldozers by compiling an interactive map of the scene, using pictures and videos shared online. |
| Here’s a useful visual guide to what we know about the crashing of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 – | Here’s a useful visual guide to what we know about the crashing of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 – |
| Boris Johnson has spoken with the Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven and issued the following statement – | Boris Johnson has spoken with the Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven and issued the following statement – |
| Ukraine’s foreign minister, Vadym Prystaiko, has said on Twitter that he and the Ukrainian president have met with US embassy officials and obtained “important data” about the plane crash. | Ukraine’s foreign minister, Vadym Prystaiko, has said on Twitter that he and the Ukrainian president have met with US embassy officials and obtained “important data” about the plane crash. |
| Prystaiko gave no further details but said the data would be “processed by our specialists”. | Prystaiko gave no further details but said the data would be “processed by our specialists”. |
| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is due to discuss the investigation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this afternoon. | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is due to discuss the investigation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this afternoon. |
| The Iran crisis is being followed closely in Germany. Three of the victims of the Ukraine airlines crash were German citizens, including Paniz Soltani, a 29-year-old scientist of Iranian-German citizenship, who worked at the Max Planck Institute in Mainz, and a 30-year-old woman of German-Afghan nationality and her children, eight and five, from the state of North Rhine Westphalia. | The Iran crisis is being followed closely in Germany. Three of the victims of the Ukraine airlines crash were German citizens, including Paniz Soltani, a 29-year-old scientist of Iranian-German citizenship, who worked at the Max Planck Institute in Mainz, and a 30-year-old woman of German-Afghan nationality and her children, eight and five, from the state of North Rhine Westphalia. |
| The national airline, Lufthansa, has cancelled all flights to and from Tehran until further notice. On Thursday night it ordered a plane from Frankfurt to Tehran to turn back as reports emerged that the crash had been caused by an Iranian missile. A spokeswoman for Lufthansa said: “Lufthansa flights from and to Teheran have been cancelled as a precaution.” She did not say when the ban would be lifted. | The national airline, Lufthansa, has cancelled all flights to and from Tehran until further notice. On Thursday night it ordered a plane from Frankfurt to Tehran to turn back as reports emerged that the crash had been caused by an Iranian missile. A spokeswoman for Lufthansa said: “Lufthansa flights from and to Teheran have been cancelled as a precaution.” She did not say when the ban would be lifted. |
| The German government, keen to keep alive the fragile Iran Nuclear deal framework, has been cautious not to be seen to support what is widely viewed in Germany as the Trump administration’s belligerent and provocative approach towards Iran following the killing of its military chief Quassem Suleimani. But its foreign minister Heiko Maas has said the death was hardly surprising given that Suleimani “has drawn a trail of blood and violence throughout the Middle East.” It was “for that reason” that he was on the EU’s terrorist list, he said. | The German government, keen to keep alive the fragile Iran Nuclear deal framework, has been cautious not to be seen to support what is widely viewed in Germany as the Trump administration’s belligerent and provocative approach towards Iran following the killing of its military chief Quassem Suleimani. But its foreign minister Heiko Maas has said the death was hardly surprising given that Suleimani “has drawn a trail of blood and violence throughout the Middle East.” It was “for that reason” that he was on the EU’s terrorist list, he said. |
| But critics in Germany who fear the government has taken a hitherto over-friendly stance towards Iran, have said the government should be looking closer to home, voicing concern over the influence of supporters loyal to the current Iranian regime living in Germany. | But critics in Germany who fear the government has taken a hitherto over-friendly stance towards Iran, have said the government should be looking closer to home, voicing concern over the influence of supporters loyal to the current Iranian regime living in Germany. |
| In particular, attention is being focussed on a mosque in Hamburg where worshippers have been gathering in the past few days to publicly mourn the death of Suleimani. | In particular, attention is being focussed on a mosque in Hamburg where worshippers have been gathering in the past few days to publicly mourn the death of Suleimani. |
| The Imam Ali Mosque situated on the Alster river in the northern port city held a memorial service, as it stated: “in honour of Soleimani and the nine additional victims” of the US drone attack, last Sunday as well as holding subsequent events to mourn his passing. | The Imam Ali Mosque situated on the Alster river in the northern port city held a memorial service, as it stated: “in honour of Soleimani and the nine additional victims” of the US drone attack, last Sunday as well as holding subsequent events to mourn his passing. |
| Reporting on the services, Der Spiegel, said that Hamburg’s Social Democrat-Green coalition government has been urged by critics from the Christian Democrats, the pro-business FDP and the right wing populist AfD, to cease its six year state cooperation with the IZH, the Islamic Centre of Hamburg, which is responsible for the running of the mosque, amid concern over its growing political influence. | Reporting on the services, Der Spiegel, said that Hamburg’s Social Democrat-Green coalition government has been urged by critics from the Christian Democrats, the pro-business FDP and the right wing populist AfD, to cease its six year state cooperation with the IZH, the Islamic Centre of Hamburg, which is responsible for the running of the mosque, amid concern over its growing political influence. |
| The public homage being paid to Soleimani, says Spiegel, “is acting like dynamite in the debate about the correct way to deal with political Islam in Germany”. But the Hamburg senate has said it has no plans to break the cooperation, which it claimed “offers important chances for the development of the relationship between the city and the Islamic communities and as a whole for the better integration of Muslims”. | The public homage being paid to Soleimani, says Spiegel, “is acting like dynamite in the debate about the correct way to deal with political Islam in Germany”. But the Hamburg senate has said it has no plans to break the cooperation, which it claimed “offers important chances for the development of the relationship between the city and the Islamic communities and as a whole for the better integration of Muslims”. |
| Elizabeth Palmer from CBS News has tweeted this picture of the crash site. She says most of the wreckage has been cleared away and there is no security at the site. | Elizabeth Palmer from CBS News has tweeted this picture of the crash site. She says most of the wreckage has been cleared away and there is no security at the site. |
| Hamed Esmaeilion, whose wife and daughter were killed in the Iran plane crash (see this earlier post), has shared this video of 9-year-old Reera Esmaeilion playing the piano. | Hamed Esmaeilion, whose wife and daughter were killed in the Iran plane crash (see this earlier post), has shared this video of 9-year-old Reera Esmaeilion playing the piano. |
| The head of Iran’s Civil Aviation body has told reporters that authorities examining the contents of the Flight 752’s black box today at a laboratory at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport. | The head of Iran’s Civil Aviation body has told reporters that authorities examining the contents of the Flight 752’s black box today at a laboratory at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport. |
| The will attempt to assess whether it is possible to reconstruct and analyse the information inside the country, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency. | The will attempt to assess whether it is possible to reconstruct and analyse the information inside the country, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency. |
| A British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran has had panic attacks since tensions between the country and the US escalated, her husband has said. | A British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran has had panic attacks since tensions between the country and the US escalated, her husband has said. |
| Richard Ratcliffe said the fallout from Donald Trump’s assassination of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani was taking a toll on the mental health of his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. | Richard Ratcliffe said the fallout from Donald Trump’s assassination of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani was taking a toll on the mental health of his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. |
| Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained since 2016 after she was arrested on espionage charges and jailed for five years. | Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained since 2016 after she was arrested on espionage charges and jailed for five years. |
| She is among up to five people with dual British-Iranian nationality, or with UK connections, believed to be in prison in Iran. Their families have said they are being held as collateral and that the heightened tensions have made it harder to secure their release. | She is among up to five people with dual British-Iranian nationality, or with UK connections, believed to be in prison in Iran. Their families have said they are being held as collateral and that the heightened tensions have made it harder to secure their release. |