Commander: US Downing Of Iranian Plane Proof Of Their Animosity

Tehran, July 3, IRNA -- A senior Iranian commander said that the US by shooting down Iran’s passenger plane back in the 1980s over the Persian Gulf airspace proved its animosity towards the people of Iran and the Islamic Republic. The Iranian passenger jet Airbus 655 that was flying from Bandar Abbas, Iran to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on July 3 1988, with 290 passengers onboard was shot down by the American USS Vincennes missile cruiser. All the passengers lost their lives with the remaining of their bodies floating on the Persian Gulf waters. “The aggressive American fleet on July 3rd 1988 targeted Iranian Airbus flight No. 655 that was flying from Iranian port of Bandar Abbas to Dubai, UAE, and afterwards the commander of USS Vincennes announced that his forces had hit a F14 fighter jet,” Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Navy for Operations Rear Admiral Siyavash Jarreh said. Rear Admiral Jarreh described the US downing of the Iranian passenger plane an outrageous criminal act in the military doctrine. The incident of downing the Iranian civilian plane was followed by Tehranˈs filing a suit at international bodies, including the United Nations. Despite the existing evidence for the attack being intentional, the world forums ignored the facts. The UN Security Council held a meeting, after 2 days, and the speech made by Iranˈs Foreign Minister let the world know about the untrue nature of the US remarks. Although Iran filed against the US in the United Nations and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), both bodies adopted a politicized attitude and declined to follow up the case legally, they only bothered to sympathize with the bereaved families of the victims. In a bid to limit the negative impact of its violent action, the US claimed the Iranian passenger plane was a fighter jet and intended to target the American missile cruiser. The then US President, Ronald Reagan, praised the act of the USS Vincennes, but said in a different interview that the American missile cruiser mistakenly shot the Iranian passenger plane. Iranians mark July the 3rd each year by showering the site of the disaster with flowers./end