Today, Iran's military admitted to shooting down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 earlier this week killing all 176 people aboard.
The admission comes after the Iranian government denied any wrongdoing claiming mechanical failure despite video evidence showing the plane being shot down and compromising the scene of the accident thus impeding the investigation of Ukrainian officials.
First, who can say the incident wasn't intentional? The Iranian government treats its populace miserably and thinks nothing of imprisoning and killing those who dare to disagree with it. This alone forfeits any right they have to any benefit of the doubt. The fact they have lied to the world about this accident and have seen fit to obstruct its investigation makes me think their admission isn't the whole truth. It should give people pause to ask if this is a regime which is being truthful about its nuclear program let alone the wisdom of permitting it
to enrich uranium in the first place.
Second, let us for argument's sake, consider the Iranian regime was telling the truth and the attack was indeed an accident. If this is the case then Iran is still guilty of negligence. Given they were in conflict with U.S. forces then why didn't its civil aviation authority ground all flights until further notice? I would once again contend that this is a regime that cares nothing for innocent human life especially of Iranians.
Third, nearly everyone aboard was an Iranian national (many of whom had become permanent residents or citizens of Canada). Because of this Iranians have turned their anger from the U.S. for the killing of General Soleimani to their own government for its dishonesty up to and including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranians have been protesting against the regime intermittently over the past decade most recently in November 2019. This new wave of protests could do more lasting damage given the raw emotion involved in a government killing its own people and being caught in a lie. If anti-government protests persist for more than a month chances are the regime will crush it. On the other hand, the international community might be more inclined to support this wave of protests than it has in the past, especially in the United States.
Which brings me to my final point. President Trump is certainly more supportive of the Iranian people than President Obama who infamously said in 2009 it was not in the interest of his administration to meddle even as Iran was mudering protesters in broad daylight following a fraudulent election. Nevertheless, Trump must express his support of Iranian protesters in such a way as to not get in the way of the Iranian regime imploding upon itself. Given his lack of discipline and self-awareness this might be nearly an impossible task. One ill-conceived tweet is all it would take for Iran to regain the sympathy of its people and the international community however undeserved. In which case, the last adult remaining in the Trump White House should abscond with his phone. Trump should only escalate his rhetoric when the Iranian regime sees fit to crush the protests. The Trump Administration should come to the aid of Iranian protesters but in a covert manner. If regime change in Iran it is better that it be done from within than from abroad. If the four decade old Islamic Republic of Iran falls its lack of candor in killing its own people aboard a civilian airliner might very well be the spark.
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