Ship captain was awarded medal for murdering innocents. Iranians won’t forget, Zarif said.
Iran Air Flight 655 was a scheduled Iran Air passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai. On 3 July 1988, the aircraft operating on this route was shot down by the United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes.
The incident took place in Iranian airspace, over Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, and on the flight's usual flight path. The aircraft, an Airbus A300 B2-203, was destroyed by SM-2MR surface-to-air missiles fired from Vincennes. All 290 people on board were killed.
The cruiser Vincennes had entered Iranian territorial waters after one of its helicopters drew warning fire from Iranian speedboats operating within Iranian territorial limits.
8072**2050
Tehran, July 4, IRNA – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on his twitter account recalled that on July 3, 1988, US ship shot down IR655, killing 290 civilians, and said that the Iranian nation will never forget the criminal act.
