Friday, March 29, 2024

Human Error? – Iranian Terrorism

Human Error?
Ukraine Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed by IRGC missiles.

“With utmost sorrow, I was informed a few hours ago, of the investigation results on the Ukrainian airliner accident. In an atmosphere of terror and threats created by the US aggression against the Iranian people after the martyrdom of General Soleimani and in order to defend against possible US Army attacks, the Islamic Republic Armed Forces were in a state of full alert, unfortunately, a human error in the shape of a wrong shot led to a great human disaster and tens of innocent people fell victim,” read an official statement by Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, on Saturday, January 11.

“The supreme leader Ali Khamenei was kept in the dark until late last night. Once put in the picture, he ordered to inform the public immediately,” twitted Mohammad Saleh Meftah, an important figure close to Khamenei.

Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also mentioned human error as the cause.

The Ukrainian flight 752 crashed Wednesday morning January 8, three days before the announcement.

In an official communiqué, the Islamic Republic’s Armed forces the highest command gave further clearing information on the event:

-The US had threatened to attack several objectives inside Iran if it were attacked by us,

– In the few hours after our missile attack (against US bases in Iraq), hostile American flights around our country had increased significantly,

-Having taken off from Tehran’s main airport, the Ukrainian airliner came close to a sensitive military facility in Tehran which caused a human error and the downing of the plane by anti-air defense systems.

There could certainly have been a human error because otherwise, one should have discussed war crimes instead of errors. But in case we buy this “human error” version of the affairs, a few questions remain to be answered:

-In any disciplined army, an erroneous even a missing shot is readily traceable to the actor, with the precise missing ammunition made known and accounted for. How can several Surface to Air missiles each costing several million dollars can be launched without immediate report to the superior? So the president, and the supreme leader, who are by definition in the position of the highest commanders, could not have been in the dark waiting for “investigation results” to make things clear.

-As normal anti-air defense demands that airliner flights be postponed in a war-zone or a hazard-zone, if Tehran vicinities were considered such zones, according to the communique of the armed forces’ highest command, why did they permitted civil aviation flights to take place in that zone?

The regime did not want to admit such a crime, which is judged too dangerous in its current situation. But international pressure made it admit the crime. When a crime has international aspects, the mullahs can no longer conceal it. So for the first time in the history of their treachery, they were obliged to retreat.

In fact, during the three days leading to Rouhani’s admitting of the crime, a vast “cover-up” effort went on at all official levels in the country.

Mohammad Eslami, Iranian Minister of Transport, refused “foreign gossiping” about the crash, putting mechanical failure as the crash cause on January 8. He further emphasized that the plane’s black boxes would not go to any other country and would be studied only in Iran.

Alireza Jaffarzadeh, spokesperson for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said on January 8 that the crash occurred due to engine failure and rejected “all gossips concerning missiles hitting the airplane”.

Abolfazl Moussavi, Vice-president for Iranian parliament’s civil construction commission said on January 9, that the Ukrainian airliner had a mechanical failure and crashed after undergoing a fire hazard.

Abbas Moussavi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign affairs, said on January 9 that “because the plane’s retrieved black boxes were damaged, it takes up to two months to acquire their information. So we have to wait.”

Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said on January 10: “I can say in full confidence that no missile has hit the plane, the plane had cruised more than 15 minutes and the crash locality shows the pilot wanted to turn back.”

More than human error, one could think of negligence on the part of those directly involved.

But more than that, a concerted effort at all levels, to cover up a heinous crime is what is most disturbing.

How many crimes have the ruling regime in Iran covered up to this day? Too many, and unfortunately they have never been held accountable for their crimes and cover-ups. To name a few:

1500 people, mostly young men and women were shot in cold blood during November 2019 uprising in Iran. To cover up the crime, the regime shut down the internet to put the world community in dark.  In spite of the figure being announced by Iran’s main opposition group the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK-PMOI) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and then confirmed by independent sources such as Reuters, and despite the fact that more than 632 names of those killed were announced by the MEK, the regime has to this day not announced any figures and has denied such numbers to have been killed.

Long records of obvious crime against humanity, such as the 1988 prison massacre, in which more than 30,000 political prisoners were arbitrarily put to death have never been admitted officially, and the same officials who perpetrated the crime are still holding high positions in the regime.

The Ukrainian airliner’s crash shows that with adequate international pressure, the mullahs can be brought to acknowledge their crimes, and with adequate international pressure the mullahs can be brought to justice. It is time for the international community to stop the appeasement policy towards this regime and bring it to justice for its past 40 years crimes, especially the recent massacre of the November protesters and massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.