Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. AFP
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. AFP
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. AFP
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. AFP

Iran: Javad Zarif says in leaked recording that details of shot-down Ukrainian plane will be suppressed


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Leaked audio appears to reveal Iran’s foreign minister admitting the truth about the shooting down of a Ukrainian aircraft last year.

In the recording, someone identified as Javad Zarif says, in Farsi, that the extent of the information must never be made public, otherwise it could endanger Tehran’s air defence networks.

There are a thousand possibilities. Maybe it was really because of the war and it was the radar

The person is also said to be heard saying infiltrators may have been responsible for downing of the plane, a view that seems to match his belief that “false flag” attacks could be conducted on US forces in Iraq to start a war.

A copy of the audio was obtained by the Canadian network CBC News and its sources identified the speaker as Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. Canadian government sources were given a copy of the audio for further analysis.

The discussion suggests the possibility the destruction of Flight PS752 was intentional.

According to CBC sources, the person is heard saying: “These things are not going to be revealed easily” by the country’s prominent military wing, a reference to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or those higher up in the government.

On January 8, 2020, the IRGC shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 over Tehran with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people aboard, including 138 people with ties to Canada.

Iran originally denied any involvement in the aircraft’s destruction. Three days later, in the face of mounting satellite and video evidence, President Hassan Rouhani admitted its military unintentionally shot down the plane.

Iranian officials, including Mr Zarif, admitted the military mistook the jet for a hostile target in the aftermath of the US drone strike in Iraq that killed the Iranian military general Qassem Suleimani.

CBC had three people translate the recording from Farsi to English to capture nuances in the language.

The details of the conversation, and the identities of the others involved, were not released owing to concerns for their safety.

For the same reason CBC did not reveal the source of the recording.

Conflicting theories 

The person in the audio identified as Mr Zarif said there were a “thousand possibilities” to explain the downing of the jet, including a deliberate attack involving two or three infiltrators, a scenario he said was “not at all unlikely”.

The voice said there were reasons they would never be revealed, and: “They won’t tell us, nor anyone else, because if they do it will open some doors into the defence systems of the country that will not be in the interest of the nation to publicly say,” they said.

They say that while Iran would deliver the aircraft’s flight recorders to France for analysis, the data recovered would not show whether someone intentionally shot at the plane.

“Even if you assume that it was an organised intentional act, they would never tell us or anyone else,” the person says. “There would have been two or three people who did this. And it’s not at all unlikely. They could have been infiltrators. There are a thousand possibilities. Maybe it was really because of the war and it was the radar.”

The person points to Russia as an example of a country that was accused of involvement in shooting down a plane, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, but never admitted to it.

Ralph Goodale, the Canadian prime minister’s special adviser on the Flight PS752 file, said the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Communications Security Establishment were evaluating the recording’s authenticity.

Mr Goodale said the audio file contains sensitive information and commenting publicly on its details could put lives at risk.

“We’re treating all the evidence and all the potential evidence with the seriousness and the gravity that it deserves,” Mr Goodale said.

“We understand in a very acute way the thirst among the families for the complete, plain, unvarnished truth and that’s what we will do our very best to get for them.”

The individual in the audio also refers more than once to compensation as a means to close the issue and says Iran wants to compensate victims’ families to prevent other countries from turning the disaster into “an international crime”.

Iran proposed compensation of $150,000 for each of the victims' families, but Canada rejected that offer. Mr Goodale said Iran has no right to offer such a payment unilaterally.

Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation. 

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
 
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
 
Don’t be afraid to negotiate

It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
 
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
 
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

10 tips for entry-level job seekers
  • Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
  • Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
  • Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
  • Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
  • Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
  • Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
  • Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
  • Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
  • Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.

Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Carzaty%2C%20now%20Kavak%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20launched%20in%202018%2C%20Kavak%20in%20the%20GCC%20launched%20in%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20140%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Automotive%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20raised%20%246m%20in%20equity%20and%20%244m%20in%20debt%3B%20Kavak%20plans%20%24130m%20investment%20in%20the%20GCC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
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  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.