WANA (Jul 03) – Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, marked the anniversary of the July 3, 1988, downing of Iran Air Flight 655 by posting a message on X.

 

Baghaei described the incident as “one of the most heinous crimes committed by the United States against the Iranian nation,” saying that on July 3, 1988, Iran Air Flight 655, en route from Tehran to Dubai, was struck by two missiles fired by the U.S. warship USS Vincennes over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people on board, including 66 children.

 

He added that “the bitter irony” was that the commander of the warship later received a U.S. government commendation, and said Iran honors the victims of the civilian airliner and “will never forget the unforgivable crime committed by the U.S. administration of the time.”