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Iran taken to World Court over passenger jet downing in 2020

Iran has been taken to World Court over passenger jet downing in 2020. Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom have asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to open proceedings against Iran. A case was launched against Iran at the United Nations highest court yesterday over the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane in 2020. 

The incident resulted in the deaths of all 176 passengers and crew. Most of the people killed included nationals and residents of Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, as well as Afghanistan and Iran. 

The four countries want the International Court of Justice to rule that Iran illegally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane. They also asked to order Iran to apologize and pay compensation to the families of the victims. They said Iran had violated a series of obligations against the Montreal Convention, which aims at securing the safety of civilian air travel.

The Ukraine International Airlines flight from Tehran to Kyiv was shot down by Iran's Revolutionary Guards on January 8, 2020 shortly after it took off from Tehran Airport. Iranian officials had described it as a disastrous mistake. A final report issued in 2021 blamed a misaligned radar and an error by an air defence operator.