US gives Ukraine 'important' data on Iran plane crash

US officials have given Kiev "important" information about the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday after phone talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

All 176 people on board died when a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 went down near Tehran on Wednesday, shortly after Iran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq in response to the killing of a top Iranian general in a US drone strike in Baghdad.

American, British and Canadian officials say intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down the plane, perhaps unintentionally, but this has been denied by Tehran.

Zelensky said on Facebook that the possibility the plane had been shot down by a missile was not ruled out "but it has not yet been confirmed."
He said he met charge d'affaires Kristina Kvien and received important information which could help in the investigation."
"We've got to get to the bottom of it, and it's important that we get to the bottom of it quickly."