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Canadian and U.S. intelligence sources say the Ukraine International Airlines flight bound for Canada that crashed in Tehran and killed 176 people was brought down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.
The news that Iran may have brought down a plane of its own people was confirmed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a press conference this afternoon.
Mr. Trudeau said the missile strike “may have been unintentional." He said the intelligence underlines the need for a credible and thorough investigation of the crash.
Check back on The Globe and Mail’s website as we continue to update this fluid story.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
The more than 100 people who were killed on the flight from Tehran to Toronto were an incredibly accomplished group will be missed in communities across Canada. The Globe is collecting photos and short profiles of the group that included academics, doctors – and children.
Ontario MP Marilyn Gladu is running for the leadership of the Conservative Party. “I’m the kind of strong dynamic leader that has 32 years of global business experience and as an engineer I tend to solve complex problems,” she said.
Canada’s elections watchdog says Warren Kinsella did not break the law when his Daisy Group did work before last year’s election to brand the People’s Party of Canada as racists. PPC Leader Maxime Bernier is set to sue Mr. Kinsella for defamation over the accusation.
The New Brunswick government says it will test new methods to teach French next fall. The policy could eventually replace the current French immersion system, which has been a source of years of debate in Canada’s only officially bilingual province.
And Meghan Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, say they want out of the Royal Family. A statement from the couple says they want to become financially independent and spend more time in North America. The Queen, however, released a statement saying she still has to talk to them about that...
Ashley Nunes (The Globe and Mail) on what can be learned from the crash: “Commercial aviation drives economic growth, connecting people, cultures and places. Consequently, it behooves countries – regardless of their ideology or current events – to come together and analyze air accidents so the next one can be prevented. Anything less does a disservice to those who lost their lives, their loved ones and society at large. Put simply, safety should come before politics. But that’s not always the case.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on Canadian soldiers in the Middle East: “For many Canadians, this crisis has been a surprising reminder that roughly 500 of their country’s troops were still in Iraq, still working in dangerous circumstances to try to help bolster the fragile Iraqi state’s ability to secure itself. Now that mission’s future is in question.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on the U.S. military strikes: “Even setting aside the threat of an imminent attack on U.S. targets being planned by General Soleimani evoked by the Trump administration to justify the timing of last week’s strike, there is no doubt that Iran’s top military strategist had plenty of American blood on his hands. At some point, he had to be stopped. The real question is why it hadn’t happened sooner.”
Justin Ling (National Post) on what Western military forces should do in the Middle East: “Indeed, given that the Europeans are now holding together their nuclear deal with Iran by its threads, it should fall on them to replace America’s haphazard leadership in Iraq. Canada, which has been harsher on the Iranians, would do well to head up the missions in northern Iraq and Syria, where it has forged close partnerships with the Kurds. Trump needs to be able to tell his voters he got to leave Iraq and made someone else pay for it. Baghdad can’t, and shouldn’t. NATO can, and should.”
Andrew MacDougall (Maclean’s) on a Pierre Poilievre run for Conservative leadership: “Criticizing an attack dog when he’s been asked to be an attack dog so the Prime Minister doesn’t have to be his own attack dog is beside the point. The whole point of Poilievre being leader would be to take that job description away from himself.”
Mark Kingwell (The Globe and Mail) on Trudeau’s beard: “All of this is pretty silly, but we know politics are all about image. Mr. Trudeau, the former drama teacher, never does anything without considering impact – though not always wisely – including yoga poses, goofy Indian costuming and unforgivable brownface.”
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Chris Hannay