Why did Iranian forces shoot down a civilian airliner in the heart of Tehran?

Wars & Conflicts · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: On January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 departed Tehran for Kyiv, only to be destroyed by two surface-to-air missiles. The tragedy occurred during a period of extreme military tension, as Iranian forces braced for a potential American retaliation following their own missile strikes against U.S. bases in Iraq.

The downing of Flight 752 was the culmination of a volatile week in the Persian Gulf. On January 3, 2020, a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force. In response, Iran launched ballistic missiles at U.S.-led forces in Iraq on the morning of January 8. Expecting an immediate American counter-attack, the Iranian military was placed on high alert, with air defense systems prepared for a full-scale war.

Flight 752 took off from Imam Khomeini International Airport at 6:12 am, roughly an hour late due to cargo loading. As the Boeing 737-800 climbed to approximately 8,000 feet, it was struck by a surface-to-air missile. About 30 seconds later, a second missile hit the aircraft, causing it to catch fire. The plane crashed near the village of Khalaj Abad at 6:18 am, killing all 176 people on board. While Iranian officials initially cited technical malfunctions, evidence of a missile strike quickly emerged.

On January 11, the IRGC admitted that its operators had mistakenly identified the civilian airliner as a U.S. cruise missile. The admission sparked widespread protests in Iran, as citizens drew painful parallels to the 1988 downing of Iran Air flight 655 by the United States. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei later defended the IRGC, urging that the tragedy not overshadow the legacy of Soleimani. An investigation was subsequently launched, leading to the conviction of several low-profile individuals, though the event remains a profound source of national trauma.

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