July 3rd, the Anniversary of US Warship Attack on Iranian Passenger Plane

On July 3, 1988 an aircraft belonging to the Islamic Republic airlines which was en route from Bandar Abbas to Dubai was targeted by a missile and downed launched from the USS Vincennes warship deployed in the Persian Gulf waters near Hengam Island. The aircraft carried 298 passengers and crews all of whom were killed in the incident.

The US crime was reported in a letter by the Islamic Republic of Iran to the head of the UN Security Council and after reviewing the July 5, 1988 Letter, this UN organ sufficed to just express regret for the downing of Iran’s passenger plane by the missile fired from the US warship.

In addition to the Security Council and International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO, the Islamic Republic of Iran lodged its complaint to the International Hague Tribunal.

Of course, the UN specialist organ (ICAO) considered the US attack on Iranian airliner as a political incident and instead of making a technical probe and presenting a solution to the Security Council, it sufficed to expressing regret and sympathizing with the families of the victims.

The file of USS Vincennes attack on Iran’s airliner was delayed for a few years due to obstructionism of the then US regime and the international bodies’ weakness; and it was closed via indemnification by the then US government.

Nonetheless, some of the US officials not only refused to express apparent regret but they admitted their crime by taking inhuman posturing.

According to “What Really Happened”? internet site, George Bush, vice-president of Ronald Reagan, had said that he would never apologize on behalf of the US and that he would not care what the reality was.

According to this website, all Vincennes personnel took the medal of honour. After the incident captain William Rogers the commander of Vincennes warship in a press conference explicitly announced that if this incident took place one hundred more times he would give the command of firing at it.

4 years after the incident, the US daily New York Times in a documentary report wrote that during the attack on Iran’s airbus Vincennes had entered the waters of Iran’s continental shelf and it was not on the international waters but the Pentagon concealed the truth to prevent further revealing of US crimes against Iran.

In view of the advanced equipment applied in the US warship and the other reasons which were gathered by reviewing the incident, the crime was proved to be quite intentional.

In reaction to the US officials’ position of the mistaken hitting of the Iranian aircraft, experts reiterated that the Vincennes intercepting and navigating system was so progressive that it enabled the commander to detect 200 targets at a distance of 400 kilometers within a single moment and define its direction and destination.

In the meeting held by the ICAO for studying the reasons of the incident, the US representative, having expressed his stances showing the US double standards for human rights, announced that any indemnity by the US “should be paid according to the legal conditions of the US laws with the Congress approval and not the international rules!!!”?

By issuing a statement and enumerating 4 claims, the then US regime tried to some how exonerate itself from charges of attacking the Iranian airplane. The US claims were: 1. The aircraft was flying outside air corridors. 2. The Iranian aircraft was flying at the height of 7 thousand feet and this is much less than the standard height. 3. The aircraft was flying towards the Vincennes and 4. The aircraft was using a response system of an Iranian military plane.

One month later, the US government adopted a new position announcing that all of the previous claims had been wrong and it released a statement acknowledging that the passenger aircraft, in its last flight, had a contact with different centers of air traffic control via a civilian standard system and a few seconds before Vincennes firing of the first missile it had talked in English with Bandar Abbas airport.

At any rate, the US missile attack on Iran’s passenger plane was part of history of the war imposed by the US regime through Saddam against the Iranian nation.

It goes without saying that the US has a very black record in human rights violation and today this process continues in a new shape in the form of targeted assassinations like the broad use of unmanned planes leading to the death of civilians.

Back in July 1988, the Iraqi regime through waging war in the Persian Gulf paved the way for the spread of US military presence in the Persian Gulf and if the US pretext at that time was support for Saddam regime, today things have changed and the US orchestrates and perpetrates terrorist acts under the pretext of anti-terrorism campaign. The US attacked Afghanistan under the pretext of September 11 incident and then invaded and occupied Iraq claiming to fight against terrorism; while its results have created insecurity and spread terrorism in the region.

The Iranian nation commemorates the memory of the victims of this heartrending crime whereas even an iota of reduction has not taken place in the US hostility against Iran and the US enmity against Iran has got wider dimensions.

The End
Source: IRIB World Service

On July 3, 1988 an aircraft belonging to the Islamic Republic airlines which was en route from Bandar Abbas to Dubai was targeted by a missile and downed launched from the USS Vincennes warship deployed in the Persian Gulf waters near Hengam Island. The aircraft carried 298 passengers and crews all of whom were killed in the incident. The US crime was reported in a letter by the Islamic Republic of Iran to the head of the UN Security Council and after reviewing the July 5, 1988 Letter, this UN organ sufficed to just express regret for the downing of Iran’s passenger plane by the missile fired from the US warship. In addition to the Security Council and International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO, the Islamic Republic of Iran lodged its complaint to the International Hague Tribunal. Of course, the UN specialist organ (ICAO) considered the US attack on Iranian airliner as a political incident and instead of making a technical probe and presenting a solution to the Security Council, it sufficed to expressing regret and sympathizing with the families of the victims. The file of USS Vincennes attack on Iran’s airliner was delayed for a few years due to obstructionism of the then US regime and the international bodies’ weakness; and it was closed via indemnification by the then US government. Nonetheless, some of the US officials not only refused to express apparent regret but they admitted their crime by taking inhuman posturing. According to “What Really Happened”? internet site, George Bush, vice-president of Ronald Reagan, had said that he would never apologize on behalf of the US and that he would not care what the reality was. According to this website, all Vincennes personnel took the medal of honour. After the incident captain William Rogers the commander of Vincennes warship in a press conference explicitly announced that if this incident took place one hundred more times he would give the command of firing at it. 4 years after the incident, the US daily New York Times in a documentary report wrote that during the attack on Iran’s airbus Vincennes had entered the waters of Iran’s continental shelf and it was not on the international waters but the Pentagon concealed the truth to prevent further revealing of US crimes against Iran. In view of the advanced equipment applied in the US warship and the other reasons which were gathered by reviewing the incident, the crime was proved to be quite intentional. In reaction to the US officials’ position of the mistaken hitting of the Iranian aircraft, experts reiterated that the Vincennes intercepting and navigating system was so progressive that it enabled the commander to detect 200 targets at a distance of 400 kilometers within a single moment and define its direction and destination. In the meeting held by the ICAO for studying the reasons of the incident, the US representative, having expressed his stances showing the US double standards for human rights, announced that any indemnity by the US “should be paid according to the legal conditions of the US laws with the Congress approval and not the international rules!!!”? By issuing a statement and enumerating 4 claims, the then US regime tried to some how exonerate itself from charges of attacking the Iranian airplane. The US claims were: 1. The aircraft was flying outside air corridors. 2. The Iranian aircraft was flying at the height of 7 thousand feet and this is much less than the standard height. 3. The aircraft was flying towards the Vincennes and 4. The aircraft was using a response system of an Iranian military plane. One month later, the US government adopted a new position announcing that all of the previous claims had been wrong and it released a statement acknowledging that the passenger aircraft, in its last flight, had a contact with different centers of air traffic control via a civilian standard system and a few seconds before Vincennes firing of the first missile it had talked in English with Bandar Abbas airport. At any rate, the US missile attack on Iran’s passenger plane was part of history of the war imposed by the US regime through Saddam against the Iranian nation. It goes without saying that the US has a very black record in human rights violation and today this process continues in a new shape in the form of targeted assassinations like the broad use of unmanned planes leading to the death of civilians. Back in July 1988, the Iraqi regime through waging war in the Persian Gulf paved the way for the spread of US military presence in the Persian Gulf and if the US pretext at that time was support for Saddam regime, today things have changed and the US orchestrates and perpetrates terrorist acts under the pretext of anti-terrorism campaign. The US attacked Afghanistan under the pretext of September 11 incident and then invaded and occupied Iraq claiming to fight against terrorism; while its results have created insecurity and spread terrorism in the region. The Iranian nation commemorates the memory of the victims of this heartrending crime whereas even an iota of reduction has not taken place in the US hostility against Iran and the US enmity against Iran has got wider dimensions. The End Source: IRIB World Service