Iran issues visas for Canadian team investigating Ukrainian airliner crash

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government would “pursue justice and accountability.”

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iran has issued at least 10 visas for an investigation team from Canada to conduct a probe into a downed Ukrainian airliner last week.

Three members of the Canadian Standing Rapid Deployment Team (SRDT) arrived in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Sunday.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a tweet that the team is expected “to be fully in place to do their important work” by Jan. 14.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) announced it would send a second team of investigators “once we confirm where and when this activity will take place.” The second team will specialize in “aircraft recorder download and analysis.”

The Iranian military admitted on Saturday that it had accidentally shot down the Ukrainian airliner that crashed shortly after taking off from an airport in Tehran, killing all 176 passengers, including 57 Canadians.

Read More: Iran admits shooting down Ukrainian airliner in ‘unintentional human error’

The incident occurred hours after Iran fired ballistic missiles on Iraqi bases that house American troops, in an operation widely publicized by Iranian media as Tehran’s “severe revenge” for the killing of Qasim Soleimani, a general of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force.

Addressing a crowd at a memorial service in Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government would “pursue justice and accountability.”

Trudeau told reporters that he had spoken to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday, noting Rouhani was committed to working with Canadian investigators.

Canada has no diplomatic relations with Iran. Ottawa severed its ties with Tehran in September 2012, recalling its diplomats and closing its embassy.