Our Response: Iran’s Story of Black Boxes (A Blank Report)

What Iran published today as its Civil Aviation Organization’s report of the black boxes of Flight PS752 was yet another ridiculous display of deceit and obscurantism. We have stated from the beginning that no report published by the Iranian government is acceptable to us. We have stated from the beginning that we seek to bring to justice the perpetrators of this crime who kept the Iranian air space open in the morning of January 8, those who ordered the shooting down of a civilian passenger airplane, and those who destroyed all evidence at the crash site.

This shameful display failed to resolve any of the existing concerns and questions that continue to be indicative of intentional deliberations for carrying out this missile attack. With these new statements, another question is also added to the multitude of questions that are lingering for months. Iran says that the black boxes stopped recording 19 seconds after the first missile strike. They also say that the pilots were alive and in control of the aircraft. It is thus evident that the second missile was fired when the pilots were trying to return the aircraft back to the airport. We now need to know why the operators of the air defense unit fired a second missile at an aircraft that was on its way back to the airport.

Our important questions regarding the reason for the delayed takeoff and the pilot’s communications within that hour, which should have been included in the report of the black boxes, have also been left conspicuously unanswered. The head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization fulfilled none of the expectations regarding a factual report, but he desperately insisted that Iran’s airspace is safe while in the same breath, threatening other countries and the victims’ families.

We ask Boeing, all transportation safety organizations involved in this case, and countries affected by this crime to act swiftly and stop the Iranian government from terrorizing the families. We have been subjected to eight months of an organized disinformation and psychological war campaign by the Iranian government. We can no longer bear their petty statements, baseless claims and threats. We are aware of the international law and its flaws and limitations in relation to this crime, but there certainly are other tools available that can take the investigation away from the perpetrators of the crime and allow impartial international organizations that are qualified, to investigate what really happened. We are also eagerly anticipating the reactions of all other countries involved in this case to this so-called report by the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization.

We demand the immediate disclosure of all of the contents of the black boxes without any interference. We continue to insist that our representatives must be present to observe and monitor the investigations and allow the families to be fully informed of the developments.

The Iranian government will continue to play its games, and another year of waiting and torment will destroy the families of the victims. We must remember that the baseless claim that the Iranian airspace is safe comes from those who have fired missiles at innocent civilian passengers, tormented their families for eight months, and continue to lie with impunity. Let us not let weeks and months become years of torture for the families. Let us not let other lives be taken by a reckless regime that will sacrifice anyone, even its own citizens, for its own survival.