On Sunday, the CEO of a Canadian food company took to the organization’s corporate Twitter account to accuse President Trump for the deaths of Canadian residents on board the plane, which included Maple Leaf Foods employees and their families, after Trump inflamed Iran to retaliate to the U.S. drone strike that murdered Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani prior this month.
..A narcissist in Washington tears world accomplishments apart; destabilizes region. US now unwelcomed everywhere in the area including Iraq; tensions escalated to feverish pitch. Taking out despicable military leader terrorist? There are a hundred like him, standing next in line
— Maple Leaf Foods (@MapleLeafFoods) January 13, 2020
The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was shot down by a missile shortly after taking off from Tehran before dawn last Wednesday, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. Fifty-seven of the victims were Canadian.
Iran responded with a barrage of missiles at two US bases in Iraq, inflicting no casualties in what was seen as an attempt to prevent a spiral of escalation
Maple Leaf Foods chief executive Michael McCain said late Sunday in a Twitter message that a colleague lost his wife and child to a “needless, irresponsible series of events in Iran.”
“US government leaders unconstrained by checks/balances, concocted an ill-conceived plan to divert focus from political woes,” he said.
https://twitter.com/GaryRayBetz/status/1216746453860855810
Without naming Trump, the head of Canada’s largest meat packing company pointed the finger at “a narcissist in Washington” for destabilizing the Middle East region.
“The world knows Iran is a dangerous state, but the world found a path to contain it; not perfect but by most accounts it was the right direction,” McCain said.
By Monday morning, the message had been shared by more than 14,000 Twitter users.
Canadian exec blasts 'narcissist in Washington' over downed jetliner https://t.co/pbyG0KkIFq pic.twitter.com/UswqNQOFXI
— Gato raro (@SuitJut) January 13, 2020
Long-standing US-Iran tensions have soared since January 3 when missiles fired from a US drone killed a top Iranian commander, Qasem Soleimani, near Baghdad’s airport.
Iran responded with a barrage of missiles at two US bases in Iraq, inflicting no casualties in what was seen as an attempt to prevent a spiral of escalation.
Read more: We want de-escalation: Both Iran & US seek sensible solution
But hours later, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard unit mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet, in what Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called a “human error”.
AFP with additional input by GVS News Desk.