An investigation by the New York Times revealed how the Revolutionary Guards tried to hide the interception of the Ukrainian passenger plane - even from the president • Government spokesman: "Cheat us all"
Tehran's lying industry is exposed: A comprehensive investigation released today by the New York Times reveals how for three days the Iranian authorities lied about dropping the Ukrainian plane and finally agreed to drop the plane from anti-aircraft missiles only after President Rouhani threatened to resign.
The investigation reveals, step by step, how the Revolutionary Guard anti-aircraft fighters fired the plane after failing to contact their commander and obtaining a firing permit, two anti-aircraft missiles at the Ukraineair passenger plane, which he mistakenly identified as an American cruise missile.
The American newspaper claims that within a few minutes of the Revolutionary Guards command, it was the rocket fire that dropped the plane and immediately launched rendering efforts, which as time went on became an international-scale embarrassment and a source of huge protests in the country.
It was also alleged that for days the Revolutionary Guards refused to disclose to President Rouhani the dangling events and that the President understood what was happening on publications on social networks, where missile pictures that dropped the plane were revealed.
"They cheated us all"
On the Friday following the incident, three days after the Ukrainian plane was shot down and 176 people aboard, the military leaders and the Revolutionary Guards convened a special meeting attended by the president and revealed the truth to him, while the regime's leaders continue to deny the media claims.
A senior government official told the American newspaper that Rouhani went wild. He demanded that Iran immediately declare that she had made a terrible mistake and take full responsibility for the consequences. The senior officials responded that the consequences could be the regime's appeal itself.
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At this point, the president threatened to resign, causing even greater turmoil in the country, which was facing the disaster at the funeral of Kassem Suleimani and the overthrow of the Ukrainian plane. Army leaders and Revolutionary Guards came on the defensive. "Canadians will finally discover the evidence they have, the consequences will be devastating," Rouhani scolded the chiefs.
The leader of the debate was Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who sent his advisers to formally announce that Iran Agan had dropped the plane but blamed the United States for responsibility for the rollout of events.
The recipient of the disillusionment was the government spokesman, Ali Raibai, who that morning faced the media and the defenses decisively against the regime's falsehood. "It was all a lie, they deceived us all. It's more than a lie. It's a rendering from which there is no way out. My dignity is gone," the spokesman told the regime's opposition journalist.
The plane's confession to topple the plane was a sign of widespread protests in the country, protests over the grief over Kassem Suleimani, the United States Revolutionary Guards commander who reversed the Iranian response, firing dozens of missiles at US bases in Iraq, a symbol of defiance and opposition to the regime's public exposure.