TEHRAN — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the 176 victims, including 57 Canadians, of the Ukrainian plane shot down accidentally by the Iranian military would have been alive if there had been no tension in the region.

“If there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families,” Trudeau said in an interview with Global News Television on Monday.

“This is something that happens when you have conflict and the war. Innocents bear the brunt of it.”

Many of the Canadians citizens were dual Iranian nationals. 

Trudeau was careful to avoid blaming U.S. President Donald Trump for the deaths which followed in the wake of the U.S. assassination of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, in Iraq.

The Ukrainian passenger plane was accidentally shot down by an Iranian air defense unit on Wednesday morning, after the operator mistook the civilian plane with a cruise missile.

The air defense was at the highest level of alert following IRGC's missile attacks against a U.S. base in Iraq, which came in retaliation for the U.S. assassination of General Soleimani.

In his Monday interview, Trudeau said Canada did not receive a heads-up before the United States assassinated Soleimani, and that he “obviously” would have preferred one.

“The U.S. makes its determinations. We attempt to work as an international community on big issues. But sometimes countries take actions without informing their allies,” he complained.

Trudeau said that while the government was working as quickly as possible to bring the bodies home for burial, it was likely to take weeks or “perhaps even months.”

Canada said on Monday that Iran had signaled that Canadian investigators would take an active role in the probe of the crash.

A delegation of Canadian officials arrived in Iran in early Tuesday morning in order to investigate the plane crash.

Earlier, the head of Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said Iran is allowing Ottawa to play a more active role than is normally permitted in the investigation into the plane crash.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also announced on Monday that it has accepted an invitation from the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide expert advice in support of the investigation of the aircraft accident for the PS-752 flight.

"Noting that all relevant States have been granted the right to participate in the investigation in compliance with Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation), ICAO has appointed senior and expert technical staff who will now serve as advisers and observers with respect to States’ interactions and interpretations relevant to Annex 13 investigation provisions," it added.

MH/PA