The person who posted the video showing the Ukrainian plane being taken down by an Iranian missile has been arrested

Advertisement
The person who posted the video showing the Ukrainian plane being taken down by an Iranian missile has been arrested
missile video
  • The person who published video of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 being downed by an Iranian missile has been arrested, according to the Iranian Fars news agency.
  • Iran initially denied wrongdoing in the plane crash, before ultimately accepting responsibility on Saturday.
  • While Iran was doubling down on its denial, the video helped confirm international suspicions that an accidental missile launch was likely to blame.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The person who shared video showing Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 being struck by an Iranian missile last week has been arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Fars News Agency reported Tuesday.

Advertisement

Fars, which is described as a "semi-official" news agency of the Iranian government, said the results of an investigation into the unnamed person will be released to the public.

The Boeing 737 crashed outside of Tehran shortly after takeoff on January 8, just hours after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at two US-occupied military bases in Iraq. All 176 people onboard the plane were killed.

While experts were quick to suspect that an accidental shootdown was to blame, Iran at first vehemently denied any wrongdoing and claimed the plane's engine malfunctioned.

As Ukrainian investigators arrived in Iran on Thursday to collect evidence at the crash site, The New York Times published a report about the video, which shows a missile being shot off into the night sky before hitting an unseen object and exploding into a ball of flames.

Advertisement

Later that day, US intelligence sources started to confirm the shootdown theory to news outlets.

It wasn't until Saturday that Iran finally admitted shooting down the plane, setting off massive anti-government protests across the country.

Also on Tuesday, another video emerged showing two missiles hit the plane. The Times' investigative team also verified that video. It's unclear who filmed or posted the second video.

{{}}