The attack occurred during the Iran-Iraq war, which had begun in 1980 with Saddam Husseins invasion of Iran.
The United States governmentbackedSaddam, and sent warships to the Persian Gulf to support the Iraqi war effort.One of those warships was the USS Vincennes which, on 3 July 1988, fired two missiles at Iran Air Flight 655 while it was making a routine trip to Dubai.Washington claimed the United States Navy had acted in self-defence, but this wasnt true.
The plane had not, as the Pentagonclaimed, moved outside the prescribed commercial air route, nor had it been descending towards USS Vincennes at high speed.The United States thus shot down a civilian airliner, and haphazardlytriedto cover it up.
Some 66 children were among the 290 civilians killed.America could count on no other government to behave like thatOn 2 March 2000, UK foreign secretary Robin Cookmetwith United States General Colin Powell, who had served as Ronald Reagans National Security Adviser between 1987 and 1989.Powell spoke frankly throughout the discussion, leading Cook to request that the United States Generals confidence be strictly protected.In particular, Powell recalled that, after the United States shot down Flight 655, Margaret Thatchers private secretary for foreign affairs Charles Powell had rung immediately from Downing Street to ask what the Americans wanted the British Government to say.The British government thus offered immediate support to the United States , despite it having killed hundreds of civilians, most of whom were Iranian citizens.To this end, Colin Powell remarked how America could count on no other government to behave like that.Powell would go on to become President George W.
Bushs Secretary of State, in which role hedeceptivelypushed for the invasion of Iraq in 2003.Staunchest defenderIn the weeks following the attack, Thatcher stood out as Reagans staunchest defender.
You cannot put navies into the gulf to defend shipping from [Iranian] attack without giving them the right to defend themselves, shedeclared.In private correspondence with Reagan, Thatcher evenspeculatedon the positive implications of the attack, writing that: The accident seems at least to have helped bring home to the Iranian leadership the urgent need for an end to the Gulf conflict.As journalist Solomon Hugheswrotein theMorning Star, the British Foreign Office also developed a line to take which was consistent with Thatchers public support of the United States For instance, the Foreign Office emphasised that the USS Vincennes issued warnings to an approaching unidentified aircraft but received no response, and stressed that the United States was responding to an Iranian attack.The Foreign Officeknewit was isolated in its support for the United States An internal memo written in July 1988 noted that only the UK included a reference to the [United States ] right to self defence, thereby attracting criticism from Iran and other countries.Eight years later, in 1996, the United States governmentpaidIran $131.8 million in compensation for the attack, and President Bill Clinton expressed deep regret over what had happened.However, the United States f government has never formallyapologizedfor the attack, and the captain of USS Vincennes wasawardedthe Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service.