On July 3, 1988, Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down by the U.S. Missile Cruiser USS Vincennes over the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 people on board. This incident occurred toward the end of the Iran – Iraq War. The U.S. among other countries had warships in the region in order to protect the transport of oil (Britannica).
There had been numerous incidents, notably an attack by Iraq missiles striking the USS Stark in May 1987. Iraqis mistook the American Frigate for an Iranian tanker. Thirty-seven sailors were killed during the attack and the ship was sidelined for more than a year (LaGrone). The U.S. then revised their rules of engagements to undertake more protective measures. The USS Vincennes had been involved in several skirmishes with Iranian vessels despite orders to change course and continued to pursue the enemy (Britannica).
The Iranian Airliner (Airbus A300) departed at 10:47 AM, heading to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The plane had taken off from an airport that was used by both military and commercial aircraft. The Vincennes immediately began tracking the plane. There was some confusion about the identity of the aircraft aboard ship. The eventually determined it to be a smaller F-14 fighter jet. After several warning calls, the ship fired two surface-to-air missiles, destroying the plane and killing all on board (Britannica).
U.S. Officials reported that the plane was descending rapidly and heading toward the Vincennes – outside the commercial jet corridor. Iran called the incident a “barbaric massacre”. After a month, U.S. authorities acknowledged that the plane was in fact, in the commercial flight corridor and was not descending. The U.S. Navy report had blamed crew error for the incident (History). In 1996, the U.S. agreed to pay $62 million in damages to the families of the victims out of a total of $131.8 million in compensation. A month later, while on the campaign trail, George H.W. Bush stated, “I will never apologize for the United States – I don’t care what the facts are.” (Pasley)
While the U.S. paid compensation, and the Clinton Administration expressed “deep regret”, the United States has never formally apologized for what happened. Iran’s state media airs footage of the wreckage annually to remind their people what the Americans had done (Pasley). This is just one of many episodes in the history of hostilities between the two nations.
Sources:
“Iran Air Flight 655 | Background, Events, Investigation, & Facts | Britannica.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2023, www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Air-flight-655. Accessed 2 July 2023.
LaGrone, Sam. “The Attack on USS Stark at 30.” USNI News, 17 May 2017, news.usni.org/2017/05/17/the-attack-uss-stark-at-30. Accessed 2 July 2023.
“U.S. Warship Downs Iranian Passenger Jet.” HISTORY, 9 Feb. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-warship-downs-iranian-passenger-jet. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Pasley, James. “Tragic Photos Show How the US Shot down Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988.” Business Insider, Insider, 9 Jan. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/iran-air-flight-655-us-navy-shot-down-1988-photos-2020-1#in-1996-the-us-government-paid-iran-1318-million-for-compensation-victims-families-received-about-62-million-of-it-the-clinton-administration-expressed-deep-regret-for-what-had-happened-but-the-us-has-never-formally-apologized-19. Accessed 2 July 2023.