On Thursday, May 20, a court in the Canadian province of Ontario ruled on Thursday that Iran owes damages to families who sued after Iran's Revolutionary Guards shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane in January 2020, soon after it took off from Tehran.
According to Reuters, Ontario's Superior Court of Justice found that "on a balance of probabilities" the missile attack was an intentional act of terrorism, based mainly on written evidence provided by lawyers representing families of some of the victims.
The lawsuit names Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, top commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and others.
The judge did not rule on damages, which will be dealt with at a future hearing. When it was first filed, the lawsuit sought at least C$1.5 billion ($1.2 billion) in compensation.
The Iranian government has said the jet's downing was a "disastrous mistake" by forces who were on high alert during a confrontation with the United States.
Mark Arnold, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, has represented clients in other lawsuits against Iran, including a 2017 decision that led to the seizure of some Iranian assets in Canada.
Earlier, U.S. intelligence agencies reported that an UIA plane could have been shot down asa result of an erroneous air strike with an Iranian missile.