Fury at Air Crash Cover-Up Puts Iran’s Leaders Back on Defensive
- Tragedy followed by lies ends brief period of national unity
- Iranian Deaths tied to response to Soleimani killing top 130
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Inside Iran, the admission by authorities that they accidentally shot down a passenger jet packed with Iranian students last week has shattered a brief moment of unity, putting its leadership on the back foot again after only recently quelling nationwide protests.
The fact that Iran appears to have spent days giving false justifications for the crash, which killed all 176 people on board, added to the anger, sparking protests and a crackdown from the government. Iran’s admission came only after the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia said they had intelligence indicating that the plane was struck by an Iranian missile, which Iran at first vehemently denied.