"Iran's airlines have always been targeted by the US sanctions and attacks since the year 1980, beginning with not allowing the Iranian Boeing 747 to land at New York airport," Director General of Iran Air, Touraj Zangeneh said, at the ceremony to pay tribute to victims of air disaster downing Airbus by the US in 1988.
The approach went on with targeting Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf by the warship USS Vincennes in 1988, he noted.
The more regrettable move by the US was that Washington did not condemn the inhumane tragedy, and instead awarded the commander of the warship a medal of valor, the official said.
The enemies of Iran, particularly the US, aimed to deprive Iran's airlines of refurbishing the air fleet by sanctions, but the Iranian experts not only foiled the plot intelligently, but also they decisively advanced the industry, the head of Iran Air said.
"In the past, all checks of Iran Air were conducted by foreign technicians, but currently the process from the first to the last phases of the planes maintenance is being done by Iranian experts," he said.
The Flight 655, an Airbus A300, flying over the Persian Gulf, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile from USS Vincennes on 3 July 1988. The attack claimed the lives of 290 civilians, including 66 children, 53 women and 46 foreigners from six nations.
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