KYIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian political analyst who was in Iran’s capital for an international conference planned to head home when it was done, but then chose to stay one more day and do some sightseeing. The decision saved his life.
Andrey Buzarov tells The Associated Press today that his original plan would have put him on the flight that Iran shot down by mistake last week, killing all 176 people on board.
“I found out within an hour after the crash. My friend, an Iranian, came to me and showed photos from local Iranian social networks; the media hadn’t written yet, no one had information,” Buzarov says.
His top concern was to let his mother know he was alive. But she lives in a rebel-controlled part of eastern Ukraine and communication with the region is difficult. His mother uses Facebook, but that social network is banned in Iran.
Andrey Buzarov, a Ukrainian political analyst, during an interview with the Associated Press in Kyiv, Ukraine, January 12, 2020. Buzarov, who was in Iran’s capital for an international conference, planned to head home when it was done on the flight shot down Wednesday by Iranian forces — but then chose to stay one more day to see the city’s sights. The decision saved his life. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Finally, he was able to make a Facebook post by using a virtual private network, or VPN, which creates encrypted links between computers, “and then she calmed down,” he says.
Buzarov, a specialist in Middle East affairs and a consultant to the Ukrainian parliament, had been invited to Iran for an international conference run by the country’s foreign ministry.
He was in Tehran when millions jammed the streets to mourn the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a US strike in Iraq. Iran accidentally downed the flight as it braced for possible American retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq housing US forces. But no retaliation came.
— AP
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