NATO chief backs assessment Iran missile downed plane

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday he had no reason to doubt reports from Western capitals suggesting an Iranian missile brought down a Ukrainian airliner, killing 176 people.

"I will not go into details about our intelligence but what I can say is we have no reason to not believe the reports we have seen from different NATO allied capitals," Stoltenberg said.

Canada and Britain have both said Iran shot down the plane outside Tehran, possibly mistakenly. (AFP) RUP