Person behind Iran plane downing clip arrested? Journo: Nope, still free

Iran says it has made several arrests after belatedly admitting that it took down a passenger jet carrying 176 people, killing them all. A person who filmed footage of the missile strike is said to have been taken into custody -- but one Iranian journalist says that is not true.

A video filmed on the morning of Jan. 8, 2020, appeared to show an Iranian missile hitting the Ukrainian passenger jet that went down, killing 176 people. (Photos: Reuters, left, and Twitter/@Osint613)


  • Iran arrests person who filmed clip of missile hitting plane: Reports
  • UK-based Iranian journo contests this, says his source still safe
  • Accuses Iran's military of 'orchestrating another lie' by arresting wrong person

Iran's military has reportedly taken into custody a person who filmed footage of the missile strike that downed a Ukrainian passenger jet last week, killing 176 people.

But the UK-based Iranian journalist Nariman Gharib -- who the BBC says "initially posted the footage" -- tweeted that the person who gave him the clip was safe.

Gharib said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was "orchestrating another lie" by arresting the wrong person, and called his source a hero.

The Iranians apologised profusely after their belated admission that they took down the plane due to a "human error". They now say they have made several arrests in connection with the incident.

As well, as many as 30 people have been arrested in protests that have swept Iran since the admission.

The New York Times now reports, citing new footage, that two missiles hit the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 on January 8.

That's the same day Iran launched missile strikes on bases housing US-led coalition troops in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian military commander thought to be the second-most powerful man in the country.

Inputs from Reuters

  • Andriod App
  • IOS App
Do You Like This Story?