''Tuesday commemorates the 30th anniversary of the crash of Iran Air Flight 655, downed by the US guided

missile cruiser Vincennes over the Persian Gulf. All 290 people on board, including 66 children, were killed in
what is believed to be one of the worst disasters in the history of aviation.

Iran's Airbus A300 was downed by the USS Vincennes over the Gulf on July 3, 1988, when the passenger jet was
en route from Tehran to Dubai within the international air corridor at an altitude of 14,000 feet (4,300 meters).
After receiving no response to its multiple radio challenges and assuming the Airbus A300 was an Iranian F-14
Tomcat, the Vincennes fired two SM-2MR surface-to-air missiles, one of which actually broke the airliner in two.

The plane began to disintegrate immediately and crashed into the water, killing all 290 people on board. While
citing Iran Air Flight 655 ignoring repeated demands to change course, Vincennes sailors preferred to keep mum
on the fact that they tried to contact the Iranian plane's crew using a MILITARY radio frequency. ;)

Commenting on the matter in an interview with Sputnik, Russian military expert Yuri Lyamin recalled that at the
time, Iran and the United States were on the brink of war and that "the situation in the region was very tense, with
US Navy ships being on constant alert." He also reminded that "during the last months of the Iran-Iraq conflict,
United States repeatedly attacked Iran's ships, destroying several motor boats and damaging a military frigate".

"They [US] deliberately took that step. They wanted to demonstrate to Iran that they would shoot down any, even
civilian planes, if they consider them a threat to their ships. This was another element of the use of force tactics,"
Lyamin underlined. He added that after the Iran Air Flight 655 crash, many were concerned about a possible
military confrontation between Tehran and Washington, something that Lyamin said finally prompted Iran to stop
its war with Iraq.

The Iran Air Flight 655 crash is considered to be one of the bloodiest episodes of the eight-year Iran-Iraq conflict
which killed hundreds of thousands of people on both sides. In peacetime, efforts are made to avoid shooting at
those planes which do not respond to messages when flying over areas with active traffic of civilian ships. First, a
fighter jet is scrambled for visual contact with such a plane. The fighter's pilots contact the plane's crew with the
help of international frequencies and try to find out about intentions. None of this was done [during the July
3,1988 incident] although the Americans had all necessary means.

Washington has never admitted any violations by the crew of the Vincennes missile cruiser and none of the sailors
was held responsible for downing a passenger plane. Moreover, the crew members were AWARDED for correct
and precise fulfillment of a combat mission. In 1996, the US agreed to pay 62 million dollars in reimbursement to
the families of the victims as part of an agreement with Iran to withdraw its lawsuit against the White House from
the International Court of Justice.''
https://sputniknews.com/world/201807031066001497-us-warship-iran-plane-crash-anniversary/