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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 the USS Vincennes (CG-49), a United States Navy guided-missile warship. Two surface-to-air missiles hit the aircraft, an Airbus A300, while it was flying its regular route over Iran's territorial waters in Persian Gulf, shortly after the flight departed its stopover location at Bandar Abbas International Airport. All 290 on board were killed, making it one of the deadliest airliner shootdowns in history. The shoot down occured during the Iran–Iraq War, which had been ongoing for eight years. The Vincennes entered Iranian territorial waters after drawing fire from Iranian speedboats within the limits.

The reason for the downing has been disputed between the governments of the two countries. According to the United States, the Vincennes crew misidentified the aircraft as a F-14 Tomcat, a US-made fighter jet, depite it transmitting civilian identification codes. They assert that the Vincennes and other warships made ten 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.

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 $ million in ) on an ex gratia basis to the families of the victims. As part of the settlement, the US did not admit liability for the accident.

Background


In 1984, the war between Iraq and Iran had expanded to include air attacks against oil tankers and merchant shipping of neighbouring countries, some of whom were providing aid to Iraq by shipping Iraqi oil. In 1987, a year preceding the shootdown, the Iraqi Air Force had attacked the U.S. Navy frigate USS Stark (FFG-31), killing 37 American sailors, after misidentifying it as an Iranian warship. After an U.S. oil tanker struck a mine in the Persian Gulf, additional warships were dispatched to the area; by late 1987, US forces had challenged and launched missiles at two Iranian fighter jets.

In response to the pattern of attacks on shipping, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a NOTAM on 8September 1987, warning all Persian Gulf countries that civilian aircraft must monitor the International Air Distress frequencies and be prepared to identify themselves to U.S. Navy ships and state their intentions; Iran disputed the validity and accuracy of these notices.

With already high tensions, the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) struck a mine in April 1988 near Kuwait, two months before the incident. After identifying the mine as Iranian, the U.S. Navy reacted with an attack on Iranian oil infrastructure, engaging in Operation Praying Mantis. One Iranian frigate, one fast attack craft and three speedboats were sunk. Additionally, two Iranian oil platforms were destroyed and an Iranian fighter jet was damaged. At least 56 Iranian crew were killed; tensions were high in the Strait of Hormuz at the time of the incident with Flight 655.

By 3 July, oil tanker escorts had resumed. The USS Vincennes, alongside the USS Sides and USS Elmer Montgomery, had been assigned to take part in an escort were travelling through the Strait of Hormuz before the incident. The Vincennes was an Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, commissioned four years earlier, fitted with the then-new Aegis Combat System. With a crew of 400, it was under the command of Captain William C. Rogers III at the time of the shootdown. The Aegis system was capable of tracking multiple mobile targets simultaenously, both naval and airborne, and more importantly allowed rapid diessmination of information between different levels of the crew. Its crew was inexperienced in actual conflict but had performed highly in training scenarios.

At its narrowest point the Strait of Hormuz is 21 nmi wide, and as a result, in order to traverse the strait, ships must stay within sea lanes that pass through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman under the transit passage provisions of customary Law of the Sea. It is normal for ships, including warships, entering or leaving the Persian Gulf to transit Iranian territorial waters. During the Iran–Iraq War the Iranian forces frequently boarded and inspected neutral cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz in search of contraband destined for Iraq. While legal under international law, these inspections added to the tensions in the area.