Jim Stone, Freelance Journalist

WAITING ON MORE SOURCES: IRAN ADMITS TO SHOOT DOWN. BUT Tasnim News, as official as it gets, says no.

Surely No Missile Hit Ukrainian Airliner: Iranian Official
Tasnim News Agency | Jan 10, 2020
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran, Ali Abedzadeh, rejected the US claim that a Ukrainian airliner that crashed in northern Iran has been shot down, saying what is certain is that no missile has hit the passenger plane.

WELL, it sure seems convincing that Israel or the U.S. would shoot it down with all those nuclear scientists aboard, UNLESS IRAN SHOT IT DOWN BECAUSE THEY WERE ABOARD AND THEY WERE GOING TO TALK. HOW ABOUT THAT ANGLE?

WE KNOW THE PLANE WAS SHOT DOWN, WHY IS IRAN STILL DENYING THIS? THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION AND UNTIL THIS WASHES OUT, I WILL NOW REFRAIN FROM GUESSING AT WHO SHOT IT DOWN BECAUSE NOW IT LOOKS LIKE IRAN DID.

No shoot down??!!?? GET SERIOUS, THAT IS LOOKING STUPID NOW, and how did a New Zealand paper get tipped off Iran shot it down while Tasnim is saying NO WAY at the exact same time??? Obviously there is infighting and they are not all playing from the same sheet of music with this one. Looks like yep, they probably shot it down and Tasnim is going to be the last to bend.

Update to below: Whether it was a stealth aircraft firing a missile, or a hacked Iranian SAM system, we now know Iran did not accidentally shoot down this aircraft, most likely Israel did.