This archive report was first published on 9 January 2020.
On January 9, 2020, US President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility that Iran had accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people on board.
Unnamed officials told American media that Iranian air defence systems likely made a tragic error, which followed a ballistic missile barrage by Iran on two military bases in Iraq where US troops work.
Trump's suspicions were based on the fact that the airliner was flying in a 'pretty rough neighbourhood' and 'somebody could have made a mistake.'
Analysts pointed to pictures of the wrecked fuselage showing multiple apparent puncture holes consistent with a rocket that detonated just outside the plane, blasting shrapnel into it.
"Similar marks were visible on wreckage of MH17," CNN reporter Jim Sciutto said, referring to the Malaysian Airlines flight which was shot down on July 17, 2014 over Eastern Ukraine by a Russian-designed surface-to-air missile.
