Iran Air Flight 655

Iran Air Flight 655

An Iran Air Airbus A300, similar to the aircraft involved
Shootdown
Date	3 July 1988 (1988-07-03)
Summary	Shot down by a missile fired from USS Vincennes; reason for shootdown disputed
Site	Strait of Hormuz, near Qeshm Island, Iran 26°40′06″N 56°02′41″E / 26.66833°N 56.04472°E / 26.66833; 56.04472
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Airbus A300B2-203
Operator	Iran Air
IATA flight No.	IR655
ICAO flight No.	IRA655
Call sign	IRANAIR 655
Registration	EP-IBU
Flight origin	Mehrabad International Airport Tehran, Iran
Stopover	Bandar Abbas International Airport Bandar Abbas, Iran
Destination	Dubai International Airport Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Occupants	290
Passengers	274
Crew	16
Fatalities	290
Survivors	0

Iran Air Flight 655 was a scheduled passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai via Bandar Abbas that was shot down on 3 July 1988 by two SM-2MR surface-to-air missiles fired by USS Vincennes, a guided-missile cruiser of the United States Navy. The missiles hit the aircraft, an Airbus A300, while it was flying its usual route over Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, shortly after the flight departed its stopover location, Bandar Abbas International Airport. All 290 people on board were killed.^[1] The attack occurred during the Iran–Iraq War, which had been continuing for nearly eight years. Vincennes had entered Iranian territorial waters after one of its helicopters drew warning fire from Iranian speedboats operating within Iranian territorial limits.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

The reason for the downing has been disputed between the governments of the two countries. According to the United States, the Vincennes's crew misidentified the aircraft as a F-14 Tomcat, a US-made fighter jet, depite it transmitting civilian identification codes and ascending rather than descending as expected. They assert that the Vincennes and other warships made eleven attempts to contact the aircraft on both civilian and military air distress frequencies, but received no response. Bandar Abbas acted as a joint civilian/military airport, and Flight 655 had departed behind schedule. The Iranian government maintains that the US recklessly shot down the aircraft, violating international law, after repeatedly provoking the Iranian forces, violating Iran's sovereignty in the process. Some analysts blamed the overly aggressive atitude of the Vincennes's captain, William C. Rogers III, whilst others focused on more widespread problems and miscommunications onboard.

The United States was heavily criticised for the downing, especially in its initial response. Whilst not issuing a formal apology, American president Ronald Reagan issued a written diplomatic note to Iran, expressing deep regret. Despite Reagan accepting that this was an apology, the US continues to assert that the cruiser was acting in self-defence. In 1996, both governments reached a settlement in the International Court of Justice in which the US agreed to pay US$61.8 million (equivalent to $120 million in 2023) on an ex gratia basis to the families of the victims. As part of the settlement, the US did not admit liability for the shootdown.