Iran marks US downing of passenger flight
Iran commemorated the 35th anniversary of the downing of its passenger plane by a US Navy guided-missile cruiser over the country’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, which killed all 290 people on board.
During a memorial ceremony on Monday, local officials and the families of the tragedy’s victims tossed flowers into the waters near the site of the crash, wrote Press TV.
Chanting slogans such as “Down with the US” and “Down with Israel,” the participants condemned the inhumane US crime and expressed their utter disgust at the criminal act.
Reacting to the occasion, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani noted that the Iranian nation will never forget this horrible crime committed by the US.
“We are commemorating the anniversary of the tragic incident of the Iranian passenger plane being hit by the US, which gave the commander of this terrible operation a medal of courage,” he said.
On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes fired missiles at an Iran Air Airbus A300B2 which was flying over the Hormuz Strait from the port city of Bandar Abbas to Dubai, carrying 274 passengers and 16 crew members.