WATCH: Trudeau doesn’t rule out blaming U.S. for plane shot down by Iran

After addressing the nation regarding the Ukrainian flight 752, the passenger plane that was shot down by an Iranian missile on Wednesday, the question was posed to Prime Minister Trudeau by a Reuters journalist: “Given the tensions in the area that were the cause of a drone strike by the United States, do you think the United States is at least partially responsible for this tragedy?”

Trudeau responded without ruling out.

“I think it is too soon to be drawing conclusions of assigning responsibility, whatever proportions. Right now, our focus is on supporting the families who are grieving across the country and provide what answers we can in a preliminary way, and recognizing that there is going to need to be a full and credible investigation into what exactly happened before we draw conclusions.”

The fact that Trudeau did not rule out assigning even a portion of the blame on the United States upset some other journalists.

Earlier today, CBC’s Katie Simpson claimed that the tragedy was an “unintended consequence” of U.S President Donald Trump’s decisive action to kill Iranian terrorist Qasem Soleimani.

While it may be true that the heightened military tensions in the area played a role in the tragedy, the suggestion that Canada’s closest ally is in any way responsible for the Iranians shooting down a passenger plane with one of their missiles may further enflame tensions.

Trudeau’s poor choice of language is likely to provoke a strong rhetorical response from the United States.