The Iranian government certainly deserves no credit for coming clean at this point. What if the United States had shot down, say, an Air France airliner 3 miles out of Chicago's O'Hare, and then denied it for 3 days as evidence mounted, and then only admitted it after the governments of Canada, France, and Britain said they had proof. Would we be applauded for "getting out in front of it"? The Iranians thought they could cover this up and only admitted it when it was clear they could not. Even then they blamed the United States! Unbelievable!