1. Speculations about ‘unexplained holes’ on photos showing the wreckage of the plane:
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
2. Two unverified images allegedly taken near the crash site supposedly showing part of a Tor M-1 missile. Iran indeed has Tor low to medium altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile systems obtained from Russia. But it remains unclear how the supposed missile part might have appeared next to the crash site if the missile hit the plane in midair and thus became the cause of the fire:
Click to see the full-size image
3. A video allegedly showing the missile hit, and supposedly filmed in a residential area in Parand. If the video is authentic and it really shows the missile hit, the question is how this person could have known when and what to film? Some reports tried to explain this with a ‘there were 2 missiles version’. This is hardly possible. There are clear videos showing how the burning plane was falling. If it had been hit by 2 missiles, then it is extremely likely that it would have come apart midair.
If one theoretically accepts the missile version as probable, it would be reasonable to suggest that the aforementioned ‘missile hit’ video was filmed with advance knowledge of the event.
Iran is the side that has a direct interest in avoiding any such tragedies on its soil. However, there is another side involved – the United States. In this case, the possible reasons for the crash could include:
- A missile strike with a man-portable air-defense system in the hands of US-linked operatives or US proxies. The location of the incident close to the airport zone and the altitude of the plane make this feasible;
- Or a special operation by US forces to carry out a missile strike from the ground. For example, this may have included the capturing of an Iranian missile launcher.
It is also interesting to address the timeframe of the events. When the tragedy happened, the technical malfunction theory was widely accepted by all sides. It took the US-led ‘international community’ almost two days to start spinning the narrative. There are two possible explanations for this:
- The United States strongly advised its ‘partners’ to promote the version blaming Iran regardless of the real reason for the crash. This media and diplomatic hysteria is needed to justify further pressure on Iran, to set the ground for possible aggressive actions and to draw the international and internal audience’s attention away from the fact that the United States for the first time since World War 2 did not give a military answer to a direct missile or bombing attack on its military bases by a state actor;
- The Flight PS752 operation had been prepared as part of the campaign to justify military aggression against Iran. However, when Washington did not want to risk providing a military answer to the Iranian missile strike, the operation was put on hold. Two days later, when the reaction of the internal and international audience to the absence of any real answer to the Iranian missile strike became obvious, the Flight PS752 incident became a part of the campaign to compensate for the US setbacks on the international scene.
In any case, the tragedy of January 8 has already become a part of the US-led campaign to discredit Iran and to increase media and diplomatic pressure on it.
