"Iran missile strike likelihood high"… Pompeo officially confirms

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo officially confirmed on the 10th (local time) that the Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed on the outskirts of Tehran, the capital of Iran, was hit by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, according to the U.S. authorities' assessment.

Pompeo stated at a press conference held to announce additional sanctions against Iran that "it appears that an Iranian missile shot down the passenger plane," Reuters reported. He added, "I am confident that once the investigation results are out, we and the world will take appropriate measures in response."

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump also met with reporters at the White House the previous day and said, "Someone may have made a mistake," while dismissing Iran's explanation that it was due to a 'mechanical failure' by saying, "Some people say it was a mechanical reason. Personally, I don't even think that's an issue." Trump also mentioned, "I have my own suspicions."

U.S. media, citing officials, reported that the crashed Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 passenger plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile of Russian origin. However, U.S. authorities are reportedly viewing the incident as an accidental strike caused by a mistake.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.