NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has tentatively backed claims from the US and allies that Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed on Wednesday, saying there is “no reason to doubt” the allegation.
“We have no reason to not believe the reports we have seen from different NATO allies…that the plane may have been downed by Iranian air defense systems,” Stoltenberg told reporters on Friday. He called for Iran to “participate and contribute to a transparent and thorough investigation.”
Iran has welcomed countries that lost citizens in the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 to participate in the investigation, which killed all 176 people on board. It has suggested it will enlist the help of France or Canada in decoding the data from the black boxes retrieved from the wreckage, but refuses to hand them over to the US.
