Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., on Friday said that the recent crash of a Ukrainian plane in Iran is “collateral damage” from the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
CNN and The New York Times both received a video that appears to show a missile being fired into the sky in Tehran at about the same time that the Ukrainian plane crashed after taking off from the city. A U.S. official told CNN that the plane was shot down by Russian-made missiles, and leaders in Canada and Great Britain also announced that the commercial airplane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, though the prime ministers of both countries also said the incident may have been “unintentional.”
“If what is being projected is true, this is yet another example of collateral damage from the actions that have been taken in a provocative way by the president of the United States,” Speier told CNN, according to Mediaite.
She added that although she received a briefing on the crash due to her place on the House Intelligence Committee, she could not discuss the details of the case since they are classified.
“I would say that the continued saber rattling by the president doesn’t help us,” Speier said.
“Iran has been a bad actor,” she continued. “Soleimani was a bad actor. But there are many people in that region and around the world who are bad actors. We have to find a way to live together and attempt to move towards peace.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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