Ten million people could have died if passenger airliner not downed, IRGC chief told families

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Shortly after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down a passenger airliner over Tehran in January 2020, killing all 176 people aboard, the top commander of the IRGC paid a secret visit to one grieving family in Tehran where he offered his condolences, and made a stark confession which will no doubt anger other bereaved families across the world.

Describing the IRGC chief Hossein Salami’s visit to her home, Zahra Majd, who lost her daughter Zaynab, 21, and son Mohammed Hussein, 23, who were studying in Toronto, Canada, told an Iranian newspaper that “Mr Salami came with his deputy and sobbed and cried and said that he wished he was on the flight instead of our children.”

During his conversation, Salami consoled the family by telling them that their children had the highest status as “martyrs” and that they had prevented a bloody war between Iran and the United States.

“Do you know if it was not for them, what a war would have been waged?” he apparently hypothesised. “If this incident did not happen, ten million people would have been killed and this incident was the reason why this war did not happen.”

The IRGC chief was referring to the barrage of missiles that hit Iraqi base Ain al-Asad which housed American forces on January 8, five days after an American drone obliterated the most famous commander of the force, General Qasem Soleimani, at Baghdad airport on January 3. Iran was worried that the US might retaliate and, therefore, informed the Iraqi side about the missile attack who in turn warned the Americans.

No US soldier was killed, although over 100 troops were diagnosed with brain injuries following the attack.

Later that day, Iran claims that its forces misidentified the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 to Ukraine for an American cruise missile and shot the airliner down minutes after its take off from Tehran, with devastating consequences for the hundreds who lost their lives, including 57 Canadians, four Britons and citizens of Iran, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Germany.

Now, based on Salami’s confession to the Iranian family, it appears that the IRGC and Iran’s establishment believed that war between the two nations was a real possibility.

The Association of Families of Flight PS752 has previously said in a report that the IRGC deliberately shot down the airliner to avoid an attack by the US. Iranian officials, on the other hand, have said that the incident was a result of “human error”.

Zahra Majd and her husband Mohsen Asadi Lari, both university lecturers, gave the interview to the reformist newspaper Shargh Daily, published on Monday, in which they also catalogued the numerous violations committed against the families of the victims of flight PS752 by the Iranian regime in the aftermath of the incident, including harassment, intimidation and even restrictions on what they could inscribe on the gravestones of Iranian victims.

“For three days we thought the plane had crashed,” Asadi Lari told the newspaper, explaining how the authorities had told them “nothing” in the early days. “We were blaming ourselves for allowing our children to travel on a Ukrainian carrier, but my son Mohammad Hossein had checked the status of the plane and reassured his mother before boarding that, “Mum, this is Boeing plane, the best plane, and it is new, rest assured of the technical side.’”

Initially, the family refused to see any members of the IRGC after Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of IRGC Aerospace, gave an interview a few days later in which he owned up to his force shooting down the aircraft. 

“It was around the 40th day of the incident that the IRGC insisted on coming to see us,” Zahra Majd recalled. “We did not accept.”

“Then they used one of our relatives as [an] intermediary,” she continued, explaining that Mr Salami insisted on having a “secret visit,” and that they were not to “tell anyone and no photos were taken either.”

It was during this meeting that Salami, known for his aggressive stance against the US, made the stark admission that shooting down the plane prevented a deadly war. 

Despite the visit by the somewhat repentant top IRGC commander, the families have come under tremendous pressure from the authorities to toe the line.

The family told the newspaper that organizing commemoration for the incident is becoming increasingly difficult for them, on top of coping with the pain from losing their children, as the authorities are constantly monitoring the families.

“This year the police came to our house and asked if we had an event, when, how and what kind… we are not free to say what we want,” Majd said, adding that even their interview had to be vetted by the intelligence service. “Since taking our children, life has become worthless, and the passing of time heals nothing, no joy is left in our life,” Majd added.

The families have attended two court hearings, but only those who lodged complaints were allowed into hearing. “We have hope… but it wont result in anything, the chances are very very weak for any result,” Mohsen Asadi Lari said.

Outside of Iran, a Coordination Group on behalf of the flight’s victims, composed of Canada, Britain, Ukraine and Sweden, issued a statement on Thursday criticising Iran for failing to communicate with them in their efforts to provide compensation to international families, and promised to take subsequent actions in order to “resolve this matter in accordance with international law.”

On Saturday, Iran announced sanctions against 51 Americans who were linked to the killing of Soleimani including US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, but the US shot back on Sunday.

“Make no mistake: the United States of America will protect and defend its citizens,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. “Should Iran attack any of our nationals, including any of the 51 people named yesterday, it will face severe consequences.”

Iran's judiciary said in November that a trial had opened in Tehran for 10 military members in connection with the jet's downing, but the families believe the “real culprits” should be on the stand.

“The perpetrators are others, they have put forward ten defendants that their identity has not even been revealed,” Majd told the paper. 

When asked who they believe are to blame for the incident, her bereaved husband replied, “Mr Shamkhani, Mr Salami and Mr Hajizadeh,” referring to the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, who is a top military advisor to the Supreme Leader. “Hajizadeh has been informed of the charges, but an order has been made not to arrest him.”

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