Justin Trudeau Faces Backlash After Shaking Hand With Iranians Who Shot Down Plane With Canadians Aboard

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing anger from his own countrymen after he was photographed chatting, shaking hands, and even bowing to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, after the rogue nation shot down a commercial airplane with 57 Canadians aboard.

Iran reportedly shot down the plane in January, after launching a series of missiles at Iraqi military bases housing American troops, an effort taken in response to the United States’ killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani who, the White House said at the time, was in Iran trying to foment anti-American sentiment and organize anti-American militia operations.

Iran initially denied downing the airliner, but after United States and international intelligence organizations pinned the crash on a pair of surface-to-air missiles filed from inside Iran, the country finally issued a statement taking responsibility and blaming “human error” for the “unforgivable mistake” that killed more than 150 passengers and crew, per The Guardian.

There were 57 Canadians aboard the Ukrainian Airlines plane, headed to Kiev, Ukraine, where they planned to catch a connecting flight to Toronto, according to the BBC.

“The plane was bound for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and many on board had a connecting flight to Toronto, Canada’s largest city and a transit hub,” the British outlet reported, identifying why so many Canadians were killed in the attack. “Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that, all told, 138 people on that flight were en route to Canada.” (Read more from “Justin Trudeau Faces Backlash After Shaking Hand With Iranians Who Shot Down Plane With Canadians Aboard” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE