The head of a Canadian food giant appeared to blame US President Donald Trump for the deaths of Canadians, including an employee’s wife and child, in the downing of a jetliner in Iran.
The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was shot down by mistake shortly after taking off from Tehran before dawn last Wednesday (January 8).
Maple Leaf Foods chief executive Michael McCain said late Sunday in a Twitter message that a colleague lost his wife and child to a “needless, irresponsible series of events in Iran.”
“US government leaders unconstrained by checks/balances, concocted an ill-conceived plan to divert focus from political woes,” he said.
Without naming Trump, the head of Canada’s largest meat packing company pointed the finger at “a narcissist in Washington” for destabilizing the Middle East region.
“The world knows Iran is a dangerous state, but the world found a path to contain it; not perfect but by most accounts it was the right direction,” McCain said.
The plane was downed at the same day Iran retaliated to assassination of IRGC’s Quds Force Commander General Qassem Suleimani, who was martyred in a US strike on Baghdad international airport alongside Deputy Commander of Iraq’s Hashd Shaabi paramilitary force.
On January 8, Iran fired surface-to-surface missiles at US bases in Iraq and was on high alert in case the US launches an attack against the Islamic Republic.
Iranian Armed Forces said the plane had flown close to a sensitive military site and been brought down due to human error, expressing regrets for the painful incident.
The Iranian Armed Forces blamed Washington over the incident, saying the incident took place “at a time of crisis caused by US adventurism.”
The Ukrainian plane was carrying 176 passengers and crew on board. Fifty-seven of the victims were Canadian.
Source: Agencies
