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Description:
Head of Iran’s IRGC Major General Hossein Salami comments on the recent Iranian missile attack on US bases in Iraq, in addition to the subsequent accidental downing of a Ukrainian civilian aircraft by Iranian forces over Tehran.
Source: Al-Alam News
Date: 12-01-2020
Transcript:
– America assassinated General Qasim Soleimani, and it threatened to respond to our retaliation, the incident (accidental downing of
Ukrainian plane) occurred under (immense) pressure
– America was aiming to tie up the hands of the Iranian nation
– we had to respond quickly and powerfully to the American crime of General Soleimani’s assassination
– when we struck the US military base (Ain al-Assad) we weren’t only aiming for taking revenge
– till now we are still prepared – with all our capabilities – for war with America
– our aim was not to kill US soldiers in our attack on Ain al-Assad
– all the objectives of our missile attack were achieved, US was unable to stop our missiles
– US president denied existence of any losses, this is natural for someone who wishes to withdraw and back down from his previous stances
– our strikes on Ain al-Assad base revealed our military and tactical superiority
– the delay in announcing the reason for the crash of (Ukrainian) aircraft was due to need for investigating and studying incident from all angles
– we were and continue to strive to protect our citizens, I was wishing that I was on board the stricken aircraft
– throughout my whole life I have never felt as much embarrassment as I felt due to this error
– I give my pledge to the Iranian people that such an error will never occur again, and that we will work night & day to protect them
The IRGC has admitted that the Ukranian aircraft was downed because of error.
They have apologized on multiple levels, from the Supreme Leader, through to the president and down to the Foreign Minister, and all have shown sincere contrition.
Please, compare Iran’s sincere and humble display, to the arrogant and unapolologetic stance taken by the US in the wake of the USS Vincennes’ – some would say, deliberate – downing of Iran Air Flight 655 with 290 passengers aboard on July 3, 1988 over the Strait of Hormuz.
I belive they even subsequently awarded the captain of the USS Vincennes.
I now see a stream of MSM hypocrites trying desperately to say Iran coming forward and taking resposibility is not enough!
O ye hypocrites, for how much longer must we tolerate thee?
Selah
Very healthy perspective. I have been addressing the Orange Man loving chestthumpers with that exact fact of the matter. The difference from then to now must be noted. Back then, there was zero reason to suspect such and accidental shoot down would occur, as the tensions back then were nothing like they are today. Who can blame the Iranians when they hear from Orange Man the desire to retaliate by bombing 52 sites, including cultural ones(appalling!) coupled with him moving B52’s into the theater. Valid reason to be put on edge.
As a side note…I grew up in a town in WA State by the name of Selah and would be most interested to hear your descriptive meaning. Thanks.
Orange moron is notably silent on all issues of importance.
Like when he ordered the kidnapping in Canada of the Huawei princess, nada a mention of this act ever.
He only talks when he can talk shit, BS man, that his base eats up.
There is only one outstanding question, will Saker again vote Trump&Gabby to be Zionist of the Year on this site??
Gabby & Trump seem to do a great laurel&hardy act where gabby is straight talking laurel, and trump is bombastic hardy, great entertainment for USA goy and this site.
Bernhard, ‘b’, at Moon of Alabama, has a very good analysis of the entire incident.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/01/was-the-shootdown-of-the-ukrainian-airplane-near-tehran-really-a-mistake.html#more
He explains the military, political and geopolitical setting that created the tragedy.
There’s something about this incident that leaves me wanting. I just can’t shoehorn the following items together logically, taking them at face value.
1: The Washington Post had this:
— nor did Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization close the airspace over the country. At least three other aircraft were in flight near Tehran at the time of the downing, according to civil aviation monitors.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl…a-971b-43bec3ff9860_story.html?outputType=amp
Then there’s this:
There were 10 departures from Tehran-IKA from midnight local time 8 Jan through the departure of PS752 at 06:12 LT. Prior to PS752, the last flight movement at IKA was the departure of QR8408 at 05:39 local time.
https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/…2-crashes-shortly-after-take-off-from-tehran/
Now back to Moon of Alabama in a piece from yesterday. (b’s commentary)
“What I find inexplicable is that the crew of Tor M-1 air defense system did not really consider that the Tehran airport was operating and that civil traffic was likely. More than ten planes had already taken off before the Ukrainian flight took to the air. The accident happened shortly after 6:00 am local time. Pure speculation: I suspect that a crew change had happened at 6:00 am and that the overnight crew did not really brief the one taking over.”
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/01/iranian-armed-forces-say-they-inadvertently-shot-down-the-ukrainian-plane/comments/page/5/#comments
Okay, now try to fit the pieces together. Apparently 3 other planes are flying in the area at the time. A plane had taken off from Teheran airport 30 minutes prior to the Ukrainian plane.
First off, those 3 other planes were not fired on by this or any other missile battery. Obviously Iranian airspace was not closed down.
Secondly, why did not this particular missile battery not fire at the plane that had taken off 30 minutes prior? Different crew, as ‘b’ speculates?
It being a different crew doesn’t really explain this away. Not being fully briefed as ‘b’ suggests? How long does it take to say that the airport is open and not to shoot the planes down?
For me, tragic accident doesn’t explain this. Gross incompetence doesn’t do it, either. I’m left with this crew (not the Iranian government or military) intended to shoot the plane down to give Iran a black eye.
Whether I’m right or wrong, the effect is the same. It’s a PR nightmare that will have far-reaching effects. Not only in world opinion, but how about the Axis’ planned unified effort to oust the hegemon from the region? Will some get cold feet now? If this was a case of a planted rat within the ranks, how far of a reach do these people have?
Iran’s statements notwithstanding (what else could it do?), and though I hope I’m wrong, I smell a rat.
A defensive network against an airborne attack is only as robust as its weakest link.
The article provided from the Moon of Alabama website stated, “The Tor operator did not know that a civil airplane had just taken off:” followed by an explanation the integrated network notified all nodes on the network that cruise missiles had been launched.
As a novice with respect to military affairs, that tells me the IRG failed to fully test the entire air defense system including the old Tor M1 system, which shockingly does not have IFF capability to detect transponder IDENT of civilian aircraft departing and arriving at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport.
The “fog of war” excuse is untenable; this is a gross SNAFU up and down the Iranian chain of command. How are the Persians going to defend the nation when a real U.S. attack happens? The idea the political leadership of Iran can throw caution to the wind and order commercial air transportation maintain regular civilian air flight schedules so as not to show weakness to the U.S. is risible. Rule Number 1: when the military commits to a counter strike against the enemy (U.S.), the political leadership must give deference to the IRG until such action is deemed over and the threat to the country attenuated. Otherwise confusion in the ranks and doubt within the civilian population will ensue.
The political and military leadership of Iran have been humiliated by this poor decision and places a dark shadow over the military victory achieved in Iraq. Going forward, the IRG must drill repeatedly with all applicable military units involved (e.g., air and sea defense, logistical support, medical service, etc.) until everyone is on the same page including the civilian leadership. This is what Russia does and Iran should seek their guidance to avoid another tragedy involving the loss of innocent lives.
I agree 100% with S-400.
It is strange that Ukrainian airplane (owned by Kolomoisky) was allowed to fly immediately after the Iran’s missile attack when Iran’s air defenses were on a state of high alert expecting potential US retaliation. A day before, on January 7, the FAA already banned US airlines from flying through Iran’s airspace and most airlines were rerouting flights away from Iran/Iraq airspace.
Ukraine again knowingly sent a commercial plane to fly through an active war zone.
Iran should have closed its air space because possibilities for an accident or a false flag were to high. It was a sad mistake, Iran admits it and regrets it, which is a lot more than any ‘democracy bearer’ can say. But then, their shooting of civilian planes are not sad mistakes but deliberate actions.
Looking to me like the Iranian Deep State along with their allies the US Deep State are coming to their final conclusion.
Now that is a sensible and astute comment on this apparent accident.
It is more than just IA655. I was just reminded of the February 3rd, 1998 disaster when a US Marine aircraft flew under the cable of a ski lift in Italy, causing g the death of 20 people. Was there a war going on and the pilot was maneuvering in combat? No, he was joy riding and showing off. Did the US government punish him? No, the pilot was acquitted in a subsequent trial. Was the US forthright about everything? No, the navigator destroyed the flight video tape. Did the us pay compensation? Eventually yes, but only after much kicking and screaming.
In fairness, Bill Clinton did offer an official apology. The pilot eventually was convicted of obstruction of justice for destroying the tape and spent 4 months (yes, months, not years) in prison.
But compared to this, the honesty of the Iranian government has been beyond exemplary. US is in no position to complain about. Although, of course they will.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/1999/03/ital-m06.html
When the US kills civilians it’s usually a two word explanation: “collateral damage” and that’s it.
Timeline – Jan 8, 2020
Baghdad is on UTC+3:00, Tehran is on UTC+3:30. According to CNN, the American bases were hit around 2:00 Baghdad time, which means 23:00 UTC.
https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/ukrainian-flight-ps752-crashes-shortly-after-take-off-from-tehran/
List of departing flights from Tehran 8 January
Jan 7/8 Departure Time (UTC), Flight number, Aircraft, Destination:
22:06:55 J29006 E190 Baku
=> missile launch and impact happens here crash at 2:48
As we can see, 8 flights have taken off from Tehran airport in the three hours following the missile strike, 7 Airbus and a Boeing 777, all to major Eurasian destinations. Business as usual.
Then the Ukrainian Boeing 737. No anomalies in its flight path whatsoever, all regular. Check the images on the FlightRadar link above. No loop as in the General Staff’s bizarre statement. No “moving like a target”. All was regular, as with the eight flights before.
General Staff of Iran Armed Forces releases statement on Ukrainian plane crash – 2020-01-11
https://en.irna.ir/news/83628876/General-Staff-of-Iran-Armed-Forces-releases-statement-on-Ukrainian
» … flight 752 of Ukraine Airlines which had taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport, moved very close to a sensitive military spot belonging to the IRGC forces when completing a loop. The altitude and the direction of the flight’s movement were like an enemy target, so the aircraft was targeted unintentionally due to human error … «
For three days, the Iranians were adamant that there was no military action that could have caused the aircraft to crash. They said civilian and military airspace control are side-by-side and in direct communication.
Then three days after the incident this rubbish story about the shoot-down and the excuses. Communication breakdown at that very moment, operator couldn’t reach the command, had only ten seconds to decide, hit the button to fire a missile.
I say they are blackmailed under threat to be cut off from international air traffic.
Lufthansa joins other airlines in halting Tehran flights
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1611311/business-economy
» Lufthansa on Friday said it was canceling all flights to and from Tehran until Jan. 20, following suggestions that Iran may have mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane earlier this week. … A Lufthansa flight between Frankfurt and Tehran on Thursday turned back an hour after takeoff because of security concerns. «
Check the names of the passengers:
https://www.flyuia.com/de/en/news/2020/flight-ps752-passenger-list
Among the passenger victims, there are two Ukrainians (Kobiuk, Malakhova; 9 crew in addition) and a Swedish family of four (Lindberg, mother of Iranian descent). These are the six only names of European descent. If we further discount 7 Afghans, that leaves us with 154 Iranian victims.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51053220
» Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that, all told, 138 people on that flight were en route to Canada. «
Trudeau certainly has the full detail. Were these passengers set up?
See also my previous three comments here:
/trump-didnt-get-the-message-irans-military-iraqi-militia-pledge-more-retaliation/#comment-743313
Everyone also remember that modern passenger aircraft can be controlled remotely … whether the pilots like it or not, the capability is built-in, not only Boeing, but Airbus as well. Best intentions, of course – imagine pilots are incapacitated for some reason … it would be great to be able to take control of the aircraft and land it safely.
Diagrams: Boeing patents anti-terrorism auto-land system for hijacked airliners – 12/2006
https://www.flightglobal.com/diagrams-boeing-patents-anti-terrorism-auto-land-system-for-hijacked-airliners/70886.article
» The “uninterruptible” autopilot would be activated – either by pilots, by onboard sensors, or even remotely via radio or satellite links by government agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency, if terrorists attempt to gain control of a flight deck. «
And satellite links like Iridium, Inmarsat or others span the globe (except the poles).
Looks like there’s been formatting issues due to angle brackets. The timeline should read as follows:
List of departing flights from Tehran 8 January
Jan 7/8 Departure Time (UTC), Flight number, Aircraft, Destination:
22:06:55 J29006 E190 Baku
= missile launch and impact happens here =
23:12:30 LH601 A333 Frankfurt
00:05:15 TK875 A321 Istanbul
00:53:37 OS872 A320 Vienna
01:01:29 SU513 A320 Moscow
01:31:28 QR491 A333 Doha
01:37:28 TK873 A321 Istanbul
01:47:16 KK1185 A321 Istanbul
02:09:39 QR8408 B77L Hong Kong
02:42:19 PS752 B738 Kyiv = crash at 2:48
Blah, blah, blah. Iran just demonstrated that it could not organize a real-time comms. between its military and civilian authorities and front-line battery officers do not know by heart times and schedules of a nearby civilian airport operations. And why the same officers possess an authority to fire? How other countries can feel if the same officers will get possession of nuclear-armed missiles? BTW, the same problems plagues Ukraine.
PS. And don’t throw US Vincent at me. It is for different discussion.
grrr you are ignoring very possible sabotage/interference from Zionists. Ignorant to do so and condemn Iran at such an early stage. Unless one is hasbara troll of course.
Yes, it is possible. But I prefer to discuss facts separately from what is possible. We can talk about “what is possible” another time and until someone is turning blue. I, personally, have no desire to engage in such idle speculations. And don’t throw accusations at messenger for pointing available fact. It is useless and demonstrate inability to interpret facts.
Do you feel good about such people as Ariel Sharon having some 200 nukes at his disposal? I know he’s dead, but he left plenty of proteges.
“That he (Ariel Sharon) described himself in such terms (Judeo Nazi) was hardly an exaggeration, since he rather gleefully advocated the slaughter of millions of Israel’s enemies, and the vast expansion of Israeli territory by conquest of neighboring lands and expulsion of their populations, along with the free use of nuclear weapons if they or anyone else too strongly resisted such efforts. In his bold opinion, the Israelis and Jews in general were just too soft and meek, and needed to regain their place in the world by once again becoming a conquering people, probably hated but definitely feared. To him, the large recent massacre of Palestinian women and children at Sabra and Shatila was of no consequence whatsoever, and the most unfortunate aspect of the incident was that the killers had been Israel’s Christian (Roman Catholic, not Christian,ed.) Phalangist allies rather than Israeli soldiers themselves.”
That’s why 3,000 dead goyim in 9/11 and the resultant millions killed, starved, displaced as a result are of no consequence whatever to the average Israeli. That mentality has pervaded the country. The human beings in Gaza and the West Bank are likewise trivial, those people will eventually be killed or driven away and “Israel” will eventually take the land by force. Rumor has it there is oil in the West Bank and gas offshore from Gaza. Guess who will take it.
Doesn’t those F35s electronic warfare systems have the capability to simulate erroneous targets to fool their enemies’ air defence systems? After all, isn’t the TOR M1 an old system prone in some extent to become jammed by these days state of the art military ‘gadgets’, planes or something else?
I remember reading somewhere the plane was shootdown when flying at 8000 feet, how can a properly trained TOR M1operator mistakenly take an airliner at such altitude by a cruise missile? As far as I know cruise missiles uses to fly as low as they can to avoid being detected, so… something doesn’t add up here. Doesn’t a TOR M1 reports to its operator the altitude of its aquired target? Or… maybe not?!
Well… I guess this issue still has enough fuel to keep it burning for quite some time, let’s wait and see how much smoke comes out of it.
Iran did the right thing to declare publicly that one of their air defense units mistakenly targeted the Ukrainian civilian airliner. However, accepting responsibility for the tragedy might prove to have been premature. At least one Russian military organization reported today u.s. spy planes close to Iran at the time were engaged in a hacking operation on the airliner.
Certainly, the US military has the ability, by remote control, to change the identity or fingerprint of a civilian Boeing aircraft via a hacking operation! Is that what happened and led the air defense to shoot down what they thought was an incoming cruise missile?
It is rather unfortunate that even anti-war voices within the US military (whether they believe in concept of Just War or are concerned with the relative damage to their own) are equating the moral responsibility of the quasi-intentional murders of Flight 655 passengers in Hormuz Straight; with the accidental killing of Ukrainian flight near Tehran.
I thought it important to list the differences & similarities of flight 655, shot down by Vincennes Capt Rogers and the Ukrainian flight shot down a few days ago in Tehran:
– Rogers crosses the Iranian maritime border illegally while the Iranian air defense is a legitimate part of the countries defense structure
– In both cases, tension with US and it’s belligerent policies lead to the laid the foundation of the disaster, with treat of war or an actual act of war perpetrated by the stronger party
– Rogers ignored superior’s orders to disengaged and had maintained communication with his base while the Iranian missile battery has lost communications after having been informed of a cruise missile attack against an important military site
– Flight 655 departed on time and maintained a scheduled civilian route while the Ukrainian airlines departed a few hours behind the schedule and deviated to the East instead of the usual outbound path
– It took only 3d for the Iranian government to accept responsibility while it felt like a couple of decades for US government to express “regret”, let alone accept responsibility or offer apologies.
– I’m both cases the majority of victims where Iranians being killed in their own country due to tensions stirred up by a belligerent USG
– The upper military echelons of Iranian military are being investigated for their F-up and will highly likely be punished and publicly on TV expressed remorse while Rogers was given a Medal of Merit (I believe) for his courageous act of downing a civilian airliner
– USNS was an AEGIS type missile cruise equivalent with a vastly superior radar while the Iranian missile battery was not yet integrated in the air defense system due to time constraints as it was only relocated a couple of days prior the incident due to the sudden worsening of internal toon al political climate
– Rogers colleagues in USN had questions about his leadership qualities of this high ranking officer while the missile battery personnel are low level operatives
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1208808/U-S-captain-shot-Iranian-passenger-jet-living-free-man–just-like-Lockerbie-bomber.html
http://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Air-flight-655
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2017/07/03/the-forgotten-us-shootdown-of-iranian-airliner-flight-655%C2%AD/
– We are not even speaking about the provocations and threat of airstrikes that were posed by 6 F-35 that threatened the Iranian boarder: http://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-iran-plane-shooting-us-soleimani-fighter-jets-border-a9288781.html%3famp
It is very suspicious and to me stinks of yet another CIA/MOSSAD massacre hoping to incite war to destroy Iran. From what I have read:
(1) It was a Boeing aircraft – which means who knows what electronic backdoors are wide open for remote control by US government and Israeli spooks as in 9/11.
(2) The transponder was not operating – the identification friend or foe system was operating “squawking” and then stopped.
(3) The aircraft made a U-turn. The flight path is tracked right up to the moment it was shot down. If I was flying that Boeing, there is only one reason I would reverse course and attempt to return to Teheran – there was something seriously wrong with the aircraft and I was attempt an emergency landing.
Read https://www.unz.com/runz/american-pravda-oddities-of-the-jewish-religion/ to understand that Israelis regard everyone else: All goyim should be exterminated as soon as possible. To them, we really are less than animals to slaughter.