Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi marked July 3rd as a reminder of the "crime" where the U.S. killed 290 people, including 66 children, aboard Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988. He criticized the U.S. for denying responsibility and failing to apologize.
The statement by Iran's deputy foreign minister highlights ongoing historical grievances between Iran and the U.S., underscoring the lasting impact of the 1988 downing of Iran Air Flight 655 and framing it within the broader context of perceived American hostility.
Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi marked July 3rd as a stark reminder of the "crime" in which the United States took the lives of 290 innocent people, including 66 children, aboard Iran Air Flight 655. He stated on X that the incident "will never be erased from the memory of the Iranian nation."
Gharibabadi further criticized the U.S. for a "second crime" that began after the plane was shot down: denying responsibility, failing to issue an official apology, and awarding a medal to the commander of the ship involved. Iran Air Flight 655 was en route from Bandar Abbas to Dubai on July 3, 1988, when it was shot down over the Persian Gulf by the USS Vincennes.
The United States maintained that the aircraft had been mistaken for an attacking military jet and that the crew acted in self-defense, never issuing a formal apology. In 1996, Washington agreed to pay compensation to the victims' families as part of a settlement at the International Court of Justice, without admitting legal liability.
In a separate message, Gharibabadi connected the commemoration of Flight 655's martyrs to honoring "Imam Khamenei, the immensely dignified Leader of the Revolution." He described Khamenei's martyrdom as a symbol of the "continuity and depth of America's enmity toward the Iranian nation" and a symbol of Iranian steadfastness and resistance.