Iran denies plane crash cover-up

Trump administration officials have issued confusing explanations, contradicting each other about how imminent a threat the Iranian general posed, whether they had specific intelligence on the threat and even what that threat was, with Trump saying one thing, then another, while officials offered varying explanations.

Immediately after the strike, US Secretary of State Pompeo told CNN Soleimani had been involved in planning an “imminent attack” in the region that put American lives at risk, adding that the US made an intelligence-based assessment that killing Soleimani would save Americans.

The Pentagon, however, offered a slightly different account, saying in a statement that the strike was carried out to deter future attacks against US interests.

While both could be true, the discrepancy has resulted in some confusion over how the administration intends to explain its reasoning for killing the man many considered to be the second most powerful figure in Iran without congressional approval.

On Monday, during a speech at the Stanford’s Hoover Institute, Pompeo reiterated that “there was in fact a set of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qasem Soleimani,” but his emphasis on deterrence marked a notable departure from how he has sought to justify the strike in the 11 days since it took place. He said:

US Attorney General William Barr’s comments today at press conference in Pensacola, Florida also indicate the administration may be pivoting away from its core defense of the strike and reframing its argument around the idea of deterrence. He said:

Read more here.

President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House on the ballistic missile strike that Iran launched against Iraqi air bases housing U.S. troops, Wednesday, January 8, in Washington.

A new national poll from Quinnipiac University finds 45% of registered voters nationwide say the killing of Qasem Soleimani was the right action for the US to take, while 41% say it was the wrong action.

Still, 51% say they disapprove of the way Trump is handling the nation’s policy toward Iran while 43% approve – a divide that’s similar to the President’s overall approval rating in this poll (43% approve to 52% disapprove).

Here are some more key findings:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US is committed to working with “duly elected leaders in Iraq to get to the right place” on force posture in the country. He also echoed President Trump’s previous comments, saying that in private conversations, Iraqi leaders were not opposed to the US’ continued presence in the country.

Pompeo said he was “fully supportive of President Trump’s effort to reduce the American footprint throughout the region” and noted that the risk posed by the forces formerly commanded by Qasem Soleimani “is not behind us.”

Although he did not mention “imminent” attacks in his remarks at the Hoover Institution today, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did reference such attacks during the Q&A portion of the event.

Responding to a question about why the American people should trust the intelligence about the reported “imminent” threats from Qasem Soleimani, Pompeo said, “There was in fact a set of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qasem Soleimani.” 

“It was unmistakable,” he said. Pompeo said the intelligence community’s view was “that the risks were real and growing and that the actions that we took that day reduced that risk. It never eliminates it. But it reduced that risk.”

However, Pompeo, a former CIA director, told the audience that “the intelligence community makes mistakes, all the time.”

Iraq has no agreement to keep US troops in Iraq to continue the fight against ISIS, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office spokesman William Warda said today.

Warda told CNN the Iraqi government would back the Iraqi Parliament’s Jan. 5 vote to expel American troops from the country, in response to a Turkish official saying otherwise in an interview with CNN on Monday. 

Earlier today, İbrahim Kalın, a spokesman for the Turkish president, said, “Although the Iraqi parliament passed an recommendary resolution, I think they [the US and Iraq] have or they are about to reach an agreement to continue the fight against ISIS.”

Warda said, “Until this moment, the Iraqi government is committed to implement the Iraqi Parliament decision, which states that all foreign troops should withdraw from Iraq. Foreign troops does not mean only American troops but all other foreign troops presence in Iraq.”

He added, “There is no agreement with the US administration on keeping the troops and the government is on the track to implement the decision of the Iraqi parliament.” 

Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin holds a press conference on December 11, 2019.

Turkish presidential spokesperson and special advisor Ibrahim Kalin has criticized the US killing of Iran’s top general, Qassim Soleimani, saying it was a “provocative act” that will only make regional problems “more complicated.”

Kalin told CNN Iraq has “turned into a battlefield for power muscling for the US” and other proxy forces in the region. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s special advisor told CNN that Turkey is concerned about the long-term consequences of the attack — mainly the effects on Iraq’s recovery and state structure, the political process in Syria and peace efforts in Yemen.

Kalin also said Turkey is speaking to “American and Iranians to make sure the whole region is not swamped in another cycle of violence”. He told CNN that the US and Turkey are “on the same page” on the broader goals in the region, but that Iran is an “important player” that needs to be engaged with. He also said the US and Iraq remain committed to fighting ISIS in the region.  

Iranian riot police use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a demonstration outside Tehran's Amir Kabir University on January 11.

Heavy anti-riot police and plainclothes security agents were seen in Enqhelab (Revolution) Square in Tehran on Monday evening local time, an eyewitness tells CNN.

The eyewitness said the protesters who are out in Tehran tonight are nearly outnumbered by the police.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not appear at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing about Iran tomorrow, Chairman Eliot Engel announced today.

His statement continued: “Each passing day raises new questions about the strike that killed General Soleimani. Was there really an imminent threat? Was it part of a larger operation? What was the legal justification? What is the path forward? With the wildly muddled explanations coming from the administration, the Secretary should welcome the opportunity to make the case and answer questions before the American people. The committee expects to hear from him soon.” 

Where’s Pompeo: He’s is in California for a series of meetings and speeches through Wednesday. Engel invited the Secretary of State to testify in a letter sent last week.

President Trump is defending his administration’s claims that a future attack by Iran’s Qasem Soleimani was imminent (although he spelled it “eminent”) but added: “it doesn’t really matter because of his horrible past!” 

In a second tweet minutes later, Trump wrote that “The Democrats and the Fake News are trying to make terrorist Soleimani into a wonderful guy, only because I did what should have been done for 20 years.” Trump adds that “anything” he does will “be scorned by the Rafical Left.”

More context: This weekend two of his top national security officials declined to provide any evidence of the intelligence used to justify the US drone strike. In interviews that aired Sunday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and national security adviser Robert O’Brien both did not cite specific intelligence information when pressed by interviewers. Trump said in an interview Friday that he approved the military attack earlier this month that killed Qasem Soleimani because he believed the Iranian general was targeting the embassies.

Here are Trump’s tweets:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a news conference in New York in September 2018.

Days after Iran’s parliament voted unanimously to declare all US forces “terrorists,” President Hassan Rouhani signed a bill deeming the Pentagon and “all its subsidiaries” terrorist organizations, state news agency Press TV reported Monday.

Iran’s most recent designation came after yet another round of US sanctions and the killing of IRGC commander General Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3.

President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke on Sunday about “regional security matters in the Middle East and Libya,” according to a readout from the White House.

The two leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East last Tuesday. They agreed to continue “close coordination moving forward,” according to a readout of the Jan. 7 call.

Anti-government protesters took to the streets of Iran Saturday after Tehran admitted that it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing 176 people.

Thousands gathered outside the gates of Amir Kabir University, near the former US embassy in Tehran, to denounce the plane crash the government blamed on human error and “US adventurism.”

Some background: Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed Wednesday after takeoff from Tehran’s airport. The crash came hours after Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops in retaliation for a drone strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) says airlines should avoid flying over Iran at any altitude after the shooting down of the Ukraine International Airlines plane last week. 

“The risk of commercial airlines over Iran has been re-evaluated by the EASA and that was in coordination with the European Commission,” said Stefan de Keersmaecker, a European Commission spokesman.

“In light of the latest recent statements from Iran that it’s armed forces accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger aircraft shortly after take-off from Tehran … the recommendation in the current security climate is that overflight of Iran at all altitudes should be avoided until further notice, as a precautionary measure,” he said.

“A new assessment will be made later this week,” de Keersmaecker added.

The CEO of a Canadian company affected by last week’s plane crash near Tehran has lashed out against the Trump administration’s handling of the crisis in relations between the United States and Iran.

Michael McCain, chief executive of Canadian food packaging company Maple Leaf Foods (MLFNF), said one of his colleagues lost his wife and 11-year-old son after Iranian forces shot down the Ukraine International Airlines jet Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board.

McCain said Sunday night in a series of tweets posted on his company’s verified Twitter account that he believes President Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East were ultimately responsible for their deaths, describing them as “the collateral damage” of an “ill-conceived plan to divert attention from political woes.”

Read the rest of the report here.

People gather for a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Ukraine plane crash in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday, January 11.

This new decade’s consequential first weeks began with the United States openly targeting and killing a foreign military leader for the first time since World War II. They ended with the tragic, unintended cost of conflict – Iran admitting it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people on board.

In an extraordinary mea culpa on Iranian state television Saturday, the commander of the unit responsible said “I wished I was dead,” when he realized that what his unit thought was a cruise missile was actually a plane.

Ukraine is demanding a full investigation and compensation for the victims – mostly Iranian, Canadian and Ukrainian – who died when the airliner was shot out of the sky, hours after Iran launched a number of missiles at two bases housing US troops in Iraq.

Now what? How are the families of the passengers and crew compensated for this unbearable loss? And how do US and Iranian government leaders, now in direct and open military confrontation for the first time since Iran’s Islamic Revolution, map a route out of this crisis?

Read the rest of Amanpour’s analysis here.

Mourners chant while gathering during a vigil for the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines flight that was unintentionally shot down by Iran, in Tehran on Saturday.

Iran is facing widespread street protests after the government admitted that it accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752.

Here are the latest developments:

Iranian President admits “human error” to blame: President Hassan Rouhani told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that human error was to blame for last week’s plane crash, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.

“We had the conversation with the Iranian president when he tried to do his best explaining that it was the human error, that no one who is to be punished will escape the punishment,” Vadym Prystaiko told British radio Monday morning.

Tehran denies cover-up: The Iranian government has denied allegations it tried to cover up the fact it accidentally shot down the plane.

The government was only informed that the Boeing 737-800 was shot down on Friday, according to government spokesman Ali Rabiei.

Demonstrations in the streets: Iranians protested the deaths of those killed in the crash over the weekend.

“Death to the dictator,” some chanted in the capital, Tehran, in footage posted on social media. In one video, demonstrators chanted: “Khamenei have shame. Leave the country.”

Riot police used tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters in Tehran’s Azadi Square Sunday, and protests spread to other cities, including Shiraz, Esfahan, Hamedan and Orumiyeh, Reuters reported.

Five foreign ministers to meet in London: Prystaiko also said that officials from five nations affected by the crash plan to meet in the UK soon.

“In two days I will see in London, we will have a meeting of the five ministers of foreign affairs of the grieving nations, where we will work out what our nations individually, and collectively, what steps were taken to bring the perpetrators to justice and how can we repay those families which suffered,” he said.

France and Russia want to preserve Iran nuclear deal: French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin expressed their shared desire to preserve Iran’s nuclear deal during a phone call Sunday, according to a statement released by the Elysee Monday.

“The two presidents expressed their common wish to preserve the framework of the JCPOA and call on Iran to return quickly to full compliance of its nuclear commitments,” the statement said.

Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei.

The Iranian government has denied allegations it tried to cover up the fact it accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752.

Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said “that was not the case,” at a press conference Monday.

The government was only informed that the Boeing 737-800 was shot down on Friday, he added.

“I can say with certainty the president [Hassan Rouhani] as the head of the supreme national security council didn’t know about the incident until Friday afternoon,” Rabiei said.

Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi has hit back after President Donald Trump tweeted his support of Iranian protesters in Farsi Saturday.

“Hands and tongues smeared with threatening, sanctioning and terrorizing the #Iranian nation, are not entitled to dishonor the ancient #Persian_language,” wrote Mousavi in a direct reply to Trump’s Farsi tweet. 

Trump sent a message to demonstrators in Iran following a day of protests in both English and Farsi.

“To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I’ve stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you,” Trump wrote.

“We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that human error was to blame for last week’s plane crash, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.

“We had the conversation with the Iranian president when he tried to do his best explaining that it was the human error, that no one who is to be punished will escape the punishment,” Vadym Prystaiko told British radio Monday morning.

“This is great to hear but we also discussed all the political repercussions and the problems and compensations to the victims of the plane…” he added.

Prystaiko also said that officials from five nations affected by the crash plan to meet in the UK soon.

“In two days I will see in London, we will have a meeting of the five ministers of foreign affairs of the grieving nations, where we will work out what our nations individually, and collectively, what steps were taken to bring the perpetrators to justice and how can we repay those families which suffered,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin expressed their shared desire to preserve Iran’s nuclear deal during a phone call Sunday, according to a statement released by the Elysee Monday.

“The two presidents expressed their common wish to preserve the framework of the JCPOA and call on Iran to return quickly to full compliance of its nuclear commitments,” the statement said.

Macron also spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.

“The French President expressed his condolences after the tragedy of the Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS 752, in which Iran has recognized its responsibility,” the statement said.

“He (Macron) confirmed to his counterpart France’s support and assistance in the investigation, so that light can be shed on the circumstances of the tragedy.”

Videos posted to social media from Iran appear to show that protests continued in Tehran, the capital, and other cities throughout the country, though CNN could not independently verify the images.

Several images showed protesters defacing posters with the likeness of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed by a US drone strike on January 3.

One video that appeared to be from Tehran showed people tearing apart a poster with Soleimani’s image on it. Another showed what seems to be a billboard with his image being burned, while people cheer and shout “Soleimani is a murderer, his leader is also murderer,” a likely reference to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Footage that is said to be from the city of Kermanshah, in western Iran, shows a much more chaotic scene. Protesters appear to be clashing with Iran’s security forces. At the beginning of the video, a flaming object flies in the direction of a crowd shouting “bi sharaf,” a Farsi phrase which means “you have no honor.”

President Donald Trump’s reputation for bending truth for political ends and conflicting administration rationales for taking out Iran’s top general are stirring a new debate over intelligence with troubling echoes in recent history.

Administration officials are tying themselves in knots to avoid contradicting Trump’s statement that Qasem Soleimani was planning attacks on four US embassies and that the President was therefore justified in ordering his killing.

Lawmakers say the hugely significant claim was not included in briefings on Capitol Hill last week by the administration to explain the Soleimani strike, amid a fast widening controversy over whether its risks were justified. Given the serious nature of Trump’s claim, arguments that intelligence surrounding the attack is too sensitive to be released is unlikely to quell the controversy.

Discord over the rationale for the Soleimani attack is awakening the ghosts of US foreign interventions that went bad after questionable justifications for war, and raising contemporary questions about the Trump administration’s attitude towards trust and truth – less than two decades after wrongly interpreted intelligence led the United States into a war with Iraq that cost thousands of American lives and killed hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Read more here

A woman at a candlelight vigil talks to a policeman following a gathering in front of the Amir Kabir University in Tehran on January 11.

Iranian riot police used tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters in Tehran’s Azadi Square Sunday, as public fury escalates over Iran’s accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board.

Protests that began as vigils to mourn those who died in the crash quickly turned into mass anti-government demonstrations, with calls for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down and for those responsible for downing the plane to be prosecuted.

“Death to the dictator,” some chanted in the capital, Tehran, in footage posted on social media. In one video, demonstrators chanted, “Khamenei have shame. Leave the country.”

Khamenei has been in office for three decades, and there is no limit to his term.

Videos circulating on social media showed demonstrators in Tehran coughing and fleeing from tear gas as authorities apparently detained protesters while others shouted for police to release them.

Some protesters could be heard shouting “we will kill whoever killed our brothers” in video posted to social media that CNN could not independently verify.

Read more here

Thousands of Iranians participate in a mass funeral for 76 people killed when the USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 on July 7, 1988.

Two days before a Ukrainian passenger plane went down over Tehran in the fog of battle last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reminded the world not to forget about something eerily similar — the shootdown of an Iran Air jetliner by a US Navy ship in 1988.

Iran Air Flight 655, an Airbus A300 with 290 people on board, was blown from the skies by a missile fired from the guided-missile cruiser USS Vincennes as it flew over the Persian Gulf from Iran to Dubai on July 3, 1988 – another tense time between Washington and Tehran.

Read more here

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks on Sunday in Edmonton at a memorial service for the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 crash in Iran.

Speaking at a vigil on Sunday for victims of the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country “will not rest until there is justice and accountability.”

A total of 57 Canadians were killed when the plane was accidentally shot down by Iran Wednesday.

“All Canadians were heartbroken to hear that Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 had crashed. All Canadians were shocked and outraged to learn that it has been brought down by an Iranian missile. This tragedy struck our Iranian-Canadian community, leaving cities like Edmonton reeling,” Trudeau said from Edmonton.

Trudeau also echoed previous statements calling on Iran to commit to a full and transparent investigation.

Several aviation experts who spoke to CNN expressed confusion as to why Iran did not stop commercial flights or close its airspace Wednesday after it fired several ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq where US troops were stationed.

The Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down just hours after the missiles struck their targets in Iraq.

Here’s what retired Maj. Gen. James Marks said:

President Donald Trump speaks about the situation with Iran in the White House on Wednesday.

A majority of Americans said they disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of Iran and feel less safe, according to a ABC News/Ipsos poll released on Sunday.

The poll shows 56% of Americans said they disapprove of the way Trump is dealing with escalating tensions with Iran, while 43% said they approved. The poll was conducted on January 10-11, in the same week that Iran launched retaliatory attacks against Iraqi bases housing US troops following an American drone strike that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

Iran accidentally shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet the same week.

Read more here

Days after President Donald Trump claimed the US had killed Iran’s top military general because he was targeting four American embassies, two of the President’s top national security officials are declining to provide evidence of the intelligence used to justify the US drone strike.

In interviews that aired Sunday, both Defense Secretary Mark Esper and national security adviser Robert O’Brien did not cite specific intelligence information when pressed by their interviewers. Trump said in an interview Friday that he approved the January 3 military attack that killed Qasem Soleimani because he believed the Iranian general was targeting the embassies.

“The President never said there was specific intelligence to four different embassies,” Esper told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.” But Esper said he shared the President’s belief that the embassies were threatened by Soleimani.

“What the President said with regard to the four embassies is what I believe as well. He said that he believed that they probably, that they could have been targeting the embassies in the region,” Esper said. And in an interview with CBS that aired Sunday, Esper said he “didn’t see” a specific threat against four embassies in the intelligence.

Watch Tapper’s interview with Esper here:

United States troops at the Al-Asad air base in Iraq were aware that an Iranian attack was imminent, allowing them to take shelter two-and-a-half-hours before missiles struck on Wednesday, CNN has been told during an exclusive tour of the devastated site.

Most troops were either flown out of the base or sheltering in bunkers by 11 p.m. local time Tuesday – shortly before the first of four volleys of missiles began at just after 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, officers said during the first tour by journalists of the air base.

Iranian forces accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 hours later.

Read more here

If you’re just joining us, here’s what you missed about the Ukraine International Airlines flight that crashed on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board.

‘This disastrous mistake’: Iranian authorities said Saturday that the flight was mistakenly shot down, a conclusion Western intelligence officials had already reached. Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, said his country “deeply regrets this disastrous mistake” and vowed to investigate.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said “human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster.”

Iran’s military also issued a statement on the crash, an unusual move for such a secretive organization. The statement said the plane was fired upon as it flew close to a sensitive military site “at an altitude and a condition of a flight that resembled (a) hostile target.”

Calls for change: Those apologies and promises have not been enough to stop protests inside Iran.

Some demonstrators in Tehran called for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s top religious and political authority, to step down and for those responsible for downing the plane to be prosecuted. Khamenei has been Supreme Leader for three decades, and there is no limit to his term.

Protests spread to other cities, including Shiraz, Esfahan, Hamedan and Orumiyeh, Reuters reported.

Counter-demonstrations: Outside the United Kingdom’s Embassy in Tehran, Iranians gathered to protest after the UK Ambassador to Iran was arrested.

Ambassador Rob Macaire was held and then released Saturday, accused of instigating and directing radical and destructive demonstrations. Macaire said on Twitter that he wasn’t taking part in demonstrations, but was paying his respects to those who had been killed in the plane crash.

The protesters who gathered outside the embassy Sunday were seen carrying images of Qasem Soleimani and burning the UK flag.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday tweeted another warning to Iranian leaders – “DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS” – as thousands of anti-government demonstrators gathered in Iran this weekend following Tehran’s admittance it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people on board.

“To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching,” Trump wrote. “More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!”

Trump tweeted several times over the weekend – in English and Farsi – to voice his administration’s support for the protesters.

Read more here.

Protesters burn British and Israeli flags during a demonstration in front of the British Embassy in Tehran.

Iranians burned the Union Jack outside the United Kingdom’s Embassy in Tehran in protest a day after the British envoy to their country was arrested.

Ambassador Rob Macaire was held and then released Saturday, accused of instigating and directing radical and destructive demonstrations. Macaire said on Twitter that he wasn’t taking part in any demonstrations – and was instead paying respect to victims of the downed Ukrainian plane.

The ambassador added that he left the area after five minutes “when some started chanting.”

Images from the scene showed demonstrators burning the flags of the United Kingdom and Israel, a frequent target of Iran’s leadership.

Many also carried posters with the visage of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian military leader killed in a US drone strike on January 3.

Protesters chant slogans and hold up posters of Gen. Qassem Soleimani while preparing to burn British and Israeli flags on Sunday.

Demonstrators in Tehran on Saturday chant while gathering during a vigil for the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines flight that was unintentionally shot down by Iran.

The Ukraine International Airlines jet that was accidentally shot down had passengers from around the world on board, but in Iran, many see the incident as a particularly domestic tragedy.

Iran doesn’t recognize dual citizenship, so many of the passengers reported as foreign nationals abroad were only reported as Iranian inside the country. Iran’s Press TV reported that 147 of the 176 people who died were Iranian, while the Canadian government said 57 of its nationals were on board.

Many are angry that the government killed so many Iranians and people of Iranian heritage, despite the fact that it appeared to be an accident.

Some protesters could be heard shouting “we will kill whoever killed our brothers” in video posted to social media that CNN could not independently verify.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc., in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Michael McCain, the CEO of Canadian food packaging company Maple Leaf Foods, said one of his colleagues lost his wife and 11-year-old son in the plane crash.

In a series of tweets posted on the company’s verified Twitter account, McCain said he believes that the United States was ultimately responsible for their deaths. He also accused President Trump of destabilizing the Middle East by tearing up the Iran nuclear deal agreed to under the Obama administration.

As of about 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time, the company’s Twitter account had fewer than 1,500 followers. McCain’s tweet, however, had been liked about 11,500 times and retweeted 4,100 times.

Maple Leaf Foods is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company employs about 12,500 people, according to its website.

See McCain’s tweets below:

Video circulating on social media appears to show Iranian riot police firing tear gas on crowds in Tehran’s Azadi Square over the weekend. The images also appear to show several people being detained. CNN cannot independently verify these videos.

Security forces were deployed in key areas of the capital, including Azadi Square near Sharif University, Enghelab (Revolution) Square near Tehran University, and Ferdowsi Square.

Fully equipped riot police were on patrol, accompanied by water cannons and black vehicles that are sometimes used as mobile detention centers.

In one video posted on social media, protesters chanted for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down and for those responsible for downing the plane to be prosecuted. “Death to the dictator,” some chanted. In one video, demonstrators chanted, “Khamenei have shame. Leave the country.”

Another shows what looks like people running away from what appears to be some sort of smoke or gas.

A third video shows people coughing as the smoke gets nearer. Someone is heard shouting ““if the cars go, they will send in the bikes,” likely a reference to the fact that Iran’s security forces often come in on motorbikes wielding batons to break up protests.

British Ambassador to Iran Rob Macaire was temporarily arrested Saturday amid the unrest.

According to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, Macaire was arrested while in the middle of a crowd of protesters in front of Tehran’s Amir Kabir University.

He was accused of instigating and directing radical and destructive demonstrations, and later released. On Sunday, he was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Macaire said on Twitter that he wasn’t taking part in any demonstrations – and was instead paying respect to victims of the downed Ukrainian plane.

Thousands of Iranians took to the streets in nationwide anti-government protests late last year, before the rising tensions between Tehran and Washington.

The demonstrations were sparked by a hike in gas prices in November. Social media images showed banks, petrol stations and government buildings set ablaze by rioters. Some protesters chanted “down with Khamenei,” according to videos, referring to the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The government responded by shutting down the internet in an attempt to stop the flow of information. International human rights organizations and Western governments accused Tehran of using force to quell the unrest and killing dozens of protesters. The United Nations said it had video evidence that Iranian security forces were “shooting to kill,” and Amnesty International claimed at least 208 protesters had been killed in 21 cities, citing “credible reports.”

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign affairs did not respond immediately to a request for comment in December on the Amnesty report.

Demonstrators chant during a vigil for the victims of the Ukraine airliner crash in Tehran on January 11.

Apologies from Iranian leaders over the downing of an airliner last week have done little to quell mass anti-government protests spreading across the country.

Thousands of demonstrators hit the streets this weekend condemning Iranian authorities for shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane and killing all 176 people on board.

In Iran, demonstrators are calling for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down and for those responsible for downing the plane to be prosecuted.

“Khamenei have shame. Leave the country,” chanted protesters in the capital, Tehran, in footage posted on social media.

Khamenei has been in office for three decades, and there is no limit to his term.

Read more here

Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 crashed Wednesday after takeoff from Tehran's airport. 

Iran said Saturday that it unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, blaming human error and “US adventurism” for the crash that left 176 people dead.

In a statement, the nation’s armed forces said it targeted the passenger plane unintentionally. It attributed the crash to radar activity and fear of US action.

Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 crashed Wednesday after takeoff from Tehran’s airport. The crash came hours after Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops in retaliation for a drone strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

Here’s what we know:

Iranians tear up a US flag during a demonstration in Tehran on Jan. 3.

Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 crashed Wednesday after takeoff from Tehran’s airport. 

The crash came hours after Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops in retaliation for a drone strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

Here’s a quick recap of the US-Iran crisis that has increased tensions in the Middle East in recent weeks: