Iran marks 33rd Anniversary of U.S. Downing of Passenger Plane

mahla — Sun, 04 Jul 2021 05:33:33 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran marks 33rd Anniversary of U.S. Downing of Passenger Plane. Iran has commemorated the 33rd anniversary of the downing of its passenger aircraft by a US Navy guided-missile cruiser over the Persian Gulf, which killed 290 people.

During a memorial ceremony on Saturday, officials from Iran’s southern Hormozgan province and the families of the tragedy’s victims, who were aboard a vessel, tossed flowers into the waters near the Strait of Hormuz and Hengam Island.

Chanting slogans such as “Down with the U.S.” and “Down with Israel,” the participants condemned the inhumane U.S. war crime.

In Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani denounced the cowardly U.S. targeting of the passenger plane as “a great, horrible and unacceptable crime.”

“In the incident, 290 people on board the plane were martyred. Unfortunately, the U.S. administration has not formally apologized for the crime and failed to take any significant measure in this regard. It has instead commended the cruiser’s commander,” he said Saturday.

“We hope that the U.S. government will recognize that a great crime was committed in the Persian Gulf in 1988. All the freedom-seekers of the world always urge the US to take necessary measures to apologize and compensate and explain to the people why it has acclaimed the murderer and the criminal responsible for this great crime.”

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.

Following the attack, the plane disintegrated and crashed into the Persian Gulf waters, killing all 290 on board, among them 66 children.

U.S. officials claimed that the USS Vincennes had mistaken Iran Air Flight 655 for a warplane. This is while the warship was equipped with highly sophisticated radar systems and electronic battle gear at the time of the attack.

In 1990, the captain of the cruiser, William C. Rogers, was cleared of any wrongdoing, and was even awarded America’s Legion of Merit medal by then U.S. president George Bush for his “outstanding service” during operations in the Persian Gulf.

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Pakistan plane crashes in Karachi, killing 107

reporter 1222 — Sat, 23 May 2020 05:09:55 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – A passenger plane belonging to state-run Pakistan International Airlines crashed near the southern port city of Karachi on Friday, killing all 107 passengers and crew, the city’s mayor said.

The aircraft crashed into a crowded neighborhood on the edge of the airport. Mayor Wasim Akhtar said at least five or six houses were destroyed in the crash, AP reported.

The aircraft arriving from the eastern city of Lahore was carrying 99 passengers and eight crew members, said Abdul Sattar Kokhar, spokesman for the country’s civil aviation authority.

The civil aviation authority said the pilot called in a mayday saying that he had lost an engine. He was attempting to land when the plane crashed.

Witnesses said the Airbus A320 appeared to attempt to land two or three times before crashing in a residential area near Jinnah International Airport. The residential area on the edge of the airport known as Model Colony is a poor area and heavily congested.

A resident of the area, Abdul Rahman, said he saw the aircraft circle at least three times, appearing to try to land before it crashed into several houses.

Police and military cordoned off the area.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted: “Shocked & saddened by the PIA crash. . . The immediate inquiry will be instituted. Prayers & condolences go to families of the deceased.”

Local television reports showed smoke coming from the direction of the airport and video emerging of the aircraft flying low over a residential area seemed to show apparent flames shooting from one of the engines. Ambulances were on their way to the airport and there were reports of some injuries among residents on the ground.

Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the crash. The flight typically takes an hour and a half from the northeastern city of Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, to Karachi.

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Iran marks 33rd Anniversary of U.S. Downing of Passenger Plane

Pakistan plane crashes in Karachi, killing 107