US believes Ukrainian plane shot down by Iranian missile, says Pompeo

The US believes it is "likely" that an Iranian missile downed a Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 on board, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday.

Within minutes of the Ukrainian flight PS752 taking off from Tehran, the plane came crashing down killing all 176 people on board on Wednesday. Among those killed were dozens of Iranians and Canadians. The flight was headed for Kiev.

"We do believe that it's likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile. We are going to let the investigation play out before we make a final determination. It is important that we get to the bottom of it," Pompeo told reporters at the White House.

Pompeo said he has spoken with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Canadian counterpart Franois Philippe Champagne in this regard.

They are working to get their resources on the ground to conduct a thorough investigation. We will learn more about what happened to that aircraft and when we get the results of that investigation, I am confident we and the world will take appropriate actions in response, Pompeo said.

In his phone call with the Canadian Foreign Minister Champagne, the two leaders spoke about the Iranian regime's continued aggressive and destabilising actions in the region and steps to contain it, specifically, the opportunity for an expanded NATO force in Iraq and appropriate burden sharing.

On Thursday, Pompeo spoke with Ukrainian President Zelensky to express condolences for the lives lost in the plane crash.

Offering US government's full assistance in the ongoing investigation, he also reaffirmed support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and underscored our long-term strategic partnership.