Downing Street said it was looking into “very concerning” reports about the Tehran airliner crash on Wednesday, amid the US claiming the jet was shot down by a missile. The Prime Minister said: “The loss of life on Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 is a tragedy and my thoughts are with all those who lost loved ones. “Four British nationals were among those who were killed, and we are providing support to their families at this most terrible time. “There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian Surface to Air Missile.
“This may well have been unintentional.
“We are working closely with Canada and our international partners and there now needs to be a full, transparent investigation.
“It is vital that there should be an immediate and respectful repatriation of those who’ve lost their lives to allow their families to grieve properly.
“The UK continues to call on all sides urgently to deescalate to reduce tensions in the region.”
Mr Johnson used a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to call for a “full, credible and transparent investigation” into what happened.
Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, posted on Facebook that a missile attack was one of the possible causes of the fire that caused Ukraine International Airlines’ (UIA) PS752 aircraft to break-up as it gained height after taking off from Tehran airport on Wednesday.
Asked whether there were any concerns about the cause of the disaster, a Number 10 spokesman said: “I’m not going to speculate on this but the reports we have seen are very concerning and we are urgently looking into them.”
The Iranian military had disputed suggestions the airliner was brought down by a missile, with officials in Iran blaming an engine fire.
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