30 Iranian war veterans swim 3.5km in memory of Flight 655

Tehran, IRNA – 30 Iranian veterans disabled during Iran-Iraq war swam 3.5 in the Persian Gulf to memorize the downing of Flight 655 in 1988. An Iranian Air flight numbered 655 which was headed to Dubai was shot by a missile from the USS Vincennes in June 3, 1988, before it sunk into the Persian Gulf and all its 298 passengers were killed. After the shoot-down, the United States announced that its battleship had targeted an Iranian F-14 fighter jet, but it then revised the statement to say that the ship mistakenly fired the passenger plane. The Islamic Republic of Iran wrote to the president of the United Nations Security Council to request an emergency meeting to address the shooting down of Flight 655. The Security Council, however, only issued a resolution to express regret over the downing of the civil airplane. In addition to Security Council and International Court of Justice, Iran filed a complaint International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), but the entity failed to make decision without politicization. ICAO only expressed regret and solidarity with the victims’ families instead of conducting technical investigation and giving solutions to the Security Council. While the tragedy constituted one of the biggest violations of human rights, international law, and international aviation law in history, the battleship’s captain was awarded the Legion of Merit decoration. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish