A team of Canadian lawyers is suing the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, and several high-ranking commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on behalf of the family members of Ukrainian plane crash victims.

According to Reuters, the legal team has asked for $1.1 billion in compensation for the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane.

57 passengers of the Ukrainian plane were Canadian nationals and some others were permanent residents of Canada.

According to Reuters, the main plaintiff of the case has remained anonymous in order to protest his Iranian family from the regime of Iran and has only been referred to as “John Doe”.

Mark Arnold is co-lead counsel, who has represented clients in several suits against Iran in the past, including a 2017 appeal decision that led to the seizure of some Iranian assets in Canada.

The suit alleges that the downing of the plane was "an intentional and deliberate act of terrorism."

Last month, Ukrainian flight 752 was shot down by two direct missiles from the IRGC air defense and all of its 176 passengers were killed.

Until three days after the incident, the Islamic Republic officials claimed that the plane had crashed by accident and not due to a missile attack.

The suit was filed Jan. 24 in Toronto, but it is not clear whether it has been served on defendants in Iran.