Prime Minister Justin Trudeau believes that had it not been for the “recent escalations” by the U.S. in the Middle East, the 57 Canadians who died after Iran shot down Flight 752 would still be alive.
Trudeau’s latest comments echo the anti-Trump remarks made by Canada’s mainstream media and the CBC.
“If there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families,” said Trudeau on The Global National.
“This is something that happens when you have conflict and war. Innocents bear the brunt of it and it is a reminder why all of us need to work so hard on de-escalation, moving forward to reduce tensions and find a pathway that doesn’t involve further conflict and killing.”
U.S. Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy hit back at Trudeau’s claim that responsibility lies with the U.S. saying that “there’s no doubt” blame lies with Iran.
“There’s no blame here for America. America stood up once again for freedom. Iran went past a red line they had not gone past before killing a US citizen — Iran shot down a commercial airliner there’s no doubt where the blame lies,” said McCarthy.
Shortly after the news of the flight’s downing, U.S. President Donald Trump denied that the U.S. bears any responsibility.
“Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side … not our system. It has nothing to do with us,” said Trump.
Since then, Iran has stated that the plane was shot down by anti-aircraft missiles due to “human error” and by “accident.”
Trudeau’s latest anti-U.S. remarks are in contrast to prior statements where he urged Iran to take “full responsibility” for the missile attack.
“Shooting down a civilian aircraft is horrific. Iran must take full responsibility. Canada will not rest until we get the accountability, justice and closure that the families deserve,” said Trudeau.
Canadian investigators from the Transportation Safety Board are currently probing the wreckage to determine and confirm the details of the crash.
