A Ukrainian airliner carrying at least 176 people crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran on Wednesday, killing everyone on board. It was unclear what caused the disaster, but the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, went down amid an escalating, violent conflict between the US and Iran.

Early statements from both Ukraine and Iran about what happened to the flight bound for Kiev, the Ukrainian capital were both confused and contradictory. Just hours earlier, Iran had fired missiles at two bases in Iraq that house US troops, and Iranian forces were on alert for an American counter-strike.

A Ukrainian airliner carrying at least 176 people crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran on Wednesday, killing everyone on board. It was unclear what caused the disaster, but the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, went down amid an escalating, violent conflict between the US and Iran.

Early statements from both Ukraine and Iran about what happened to the flight bound for Kiev, the Ukrainian capital were both confused and contradictory. Just hours earlier, Iran had fired missiles at two bases in Iraq that house US troops, and Iranian forces were on alert for an American counter-strike.