The document summarizes the shoot down of Iran Air Flight 655 by the USS Vincennes on July 3, 1988 which killed all 290 people on board. It provides background on the tensions between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf due to the Iran-Iraq war. It describes the events, reactions, investigations and findings that the US Navy missile cruiser shot down the civilian airliner after mistakenly identifying it as a hostile fighter jet. It also examines the legal responsibilities and disputes between the US and Iranian governments over compensation.

1. Iran Air Flight IR655
Shoot down of commercial
air liner by United States
Navy guided missile cruiser
USS Vincennes

2. INTRODUCTION
• On July 3, 1988, Iran Air Flight
655 was shot down by USS
Vincennes on the Bandar Abbas-
Dubai route. 290 on board died.
• According to the Iranian
government, Vincennes negligent
ly shot down the civilian aircraft
• According to the United States
government, the crew incorrectly
identified the Iranian Airbus
A300 as an attacking F-14A
Tomcat fighter

3. Background
• In 1984 was a war between Iraq and Iran.
• A year after, Iraqi Air Force attacked the
USS Stark killing 37 American sailors.
• U.S. naval forces had exchanged gunfire
with Iranian gunboats in late 1987.
• The USS Samuel B. Roberts had struck
an Iranian sea mine in April 1988.
• Two months before the incident the US had engaged in Operation Praying
Mantis, resulting in the sinking of the Iranian frigate Sahand.
• Tensions were high in the Strait of Hormuz.

4. Background (continuation )
• On 29 April 1988 the U.S. expanded the scope of
its navy's protection .
• USS Vincennes was rushed to the area on a short-
notice deployment, as a result of high-level
decisions, to compensate for the lack of AWACS
coverage.
• USS Vincennes arrived in Bahrain on 29 May
1988 under the command of cpt. Willian C. Rogers
III.
• Due to the Narrow size of strait of Harmauz it was
normal for Ships including war ships to enter the
Iranian and Omani terrestrial waters.

5. Facts and Figures
Flight IR 655
 The Plane Airbus A300B2
 Registration: EP-IBU
 Flown by CPT. Mohsen Rezaian(37) with
7000hrs
 Left Bandar- Abbas 27 min after STD to
DXB.
 After take-off ATC directed over Persian
gulf to main FL140 and descend for DXB.
 A/C was transmitting correct squawk code
and maintain continues English
communication with ATC.

6. • IR 655 Was a Scheduled Flight Within
the Internationally Designated Civil Air
Corridor.
• Iran Air had operated for over 20 years
the international air corridor, ATS
route A59.
• At all times ,on 3 July 1988, IR 655 was
within the lateral limits of airway A59
• The evidence shows that the U.S.
warships was aware of IR 655's
messages, which were being broadcast
over open radio frequencies. This is
demonstrated by the official
investigation that the United States
Government.

7. Facts and Figure (cont…)
USS Vincennes:
 On 3 July, Vincennes was passing through
the Strait of Hormuz.
 A helicopter reported that it received small arms
fires from Iranian petrol vessels.
 Vincennes then pursued the Iranian gunboats, entering Iranian territorial waters to open fire.
 It was in Iranian Waters at the time of incident.
 Crew members of USS Vincennes account A/C was squawking on the Mode III.
 USS Vincennes fired 2- missiles, one hit the A/C and it exploded and fell in the water, killing
all on board.
 Vincennes was one of five cruisers commissioned that carried the new Aegis combat system, a
billion dollar computerized integrated battle management system. Aegis is an advanced,
automatic detect-and-track, multi-function three-dimensional phased array radar,
the AN/SPY-1.

8. Facts and Figures (conti….)
• Reactions.
 The event triggered an intense international controversy, with Iran
condemning the U.S. attack.
 In mid-July 1988, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati asked the
UNSC to condemn the United States saying the U.S. attack could not have
been a mistake" and was a "criminal act", an "atrocity" and a "massacre.
 V-President G.W. Bush Defended saying U.S. attack had been a wartime
incident and that the crew of Vincennes had acted appropriately to the
situation.
 Soviet Union asked the U.S. to withdraw from the area and supported
efforts by the Security Council to end the Iran–Iraq War.

9. Facts and figures (conti…)
• Security Council Resolution 616:
◦ Expressing Deep regards on the incident.
◦ Welcoming decision by ICAO on Iran’s
request.
◦ Began immediate investigation.
◦ Welcomes the announcements of Iran , US
cooperation for investigation.

10. US Government Elucidations:
• Vincennes mistakenly identified IR 655 as military fighter.
• The ship's own Aegis Combat System recorded the flight plan of the
Iranian airliner as climbing.
• Bandar Abbas dual role.
• Vincennes tried to contact 7 times on military and 3 times on civil
frequency.
• But never on ATC frequencies.
• A/C not equipped to pick military frequency and message on civil
frequency could directed to any A/C.
• More confusion aroused by difference in ground speed and actual
airspeed.
• After attack crew realized it was an civilian airliner.

11. US Government Elucidations: (cont…)
• A report by Admiral William Fogarty stated,
 Evidence shows fact that Iran Air Flight 655 was on a normal
commercial air flight plan profile
 In the assigned airway
 Squawking Mode III 676
 On a continuous ascent(not descend in attacking profile) in
altitude from take-off at Bandar Abbas to shoot-down.

12. US Government Elucidations: (cont…)
• 2000 BBC documentary,
 U.S. government stated the incident may have been caused by a
simultaneous psychological condition amongst the 18 bridge crew
of Vincennes called 'scenario fulfillment.
 which is said to occur when persons are under pressure.
 In such a situation, the men will carry out a training scenario,
believing it to be reality while ignoring sensory information that
contradicts the scenario.
 In the case of this incident, the scenario was an attack by a lone
military aircraft.

13. Iranian Government accounts
• Shooting down of IR 655 was an
international crime.
• Iran does accept mis-
identification of IR655.
• Vincennes had advanced Aegis
radar that correctly tracked the
flight and its Mode III beacon.
• Two other U.S. warships in the
area identified the aircraft as
civilian.
• Flight was well within a
recognized international air
corridor.

14. Iranian Government accounts
• U.S (NOTAM) of risk of defensive
measure.
 Civil aircrafts are at risk if they have
not cleared from regional airport
 If they came within 5 NM(9.3 km) of
a warship at an altitude of less than
2,000 ft.
 IR655 cleared all those limits but still
been attacked.
 Even If it had been an F-14 fighter,
US would not have right to shoot it
down as it was flying in Iranian
airspace. And it did not make any
attacking profile.
• Vincennes was in Iranian terrestrial
waters at the time of incident when
launch missiles.
• Regardless of the mistakes made by the
crew, the U.S. was legally responsible
for the actions of its warship under
international law.

15. Independent sources
• National Geographic Channel broadcast a
documentary on this incident titled "Mistaken
Identity"as an episode of its Mayday series
• 3 years after the incident, Admiral William J. Crowe
admitted on TV that Vincennes was inside Iranian
territorial waters when it launched the missiles.
• Commander of USS Sides said that the destruction of
the aircraft "marked the horrifying climax to Captain
Rogers's aggressiveness“
• Captain Rogers had "an undeniable tendency towards
at what I call 'picking a fight.'"
• The ship was known as “Robo Cruiser” , for its
aggressiveness
• They also accused the U.S. government of a cover-up,
but Admiral Crowe denied any knowledge

16. PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF LAW
to the legal responsibility for the destruction of
IR 655 and the killing of the persons onboard.
• Chicago Convention.
• The Montreal Convention.
• The Treaty of Amity.
• International law: particularly relating to the
use of armed force and respect for a State's
territorial sovereignty.

17. Chicago Convention:
Chicago Convention promotes the safe and orderly development of
international civil aviation.
• Article 1 : Every State has complete and exclusive sovereignty over
the airspace above its territory.
• Article 2 : "territory" includes the land areas (comprising,
necessarily, any internal waters that may exist) and territorial
waters adjacent to their sovereignty.
• Articles 44(a) and 44(h): Establishes the prohibition against the
use of armed force in foreign territory.

18. The Montreal Convention of 1971.
designed to deal with the suppression of unlawful acts against the
safety of civil aviation and its passengers, crew and aircraft
• Article 1: Includes all acts of violence against the
aircraft and persons on board likely to endanger the
aircraft's safety as well as the destruction of an aircraft
• Article 3: links the State to the offence committed by
a "person" under Article 1.

19. The treaty of Amity and commerce
USA - IRAN
Guarantee freedom of commerce and
navigation
• Articles IV(1) and X(1),
One State in the internal and territorial waters
of another State, leading to the loss of lives and
the destruction of property, constitutes a
violation of the obligation to guarantee freedom
of commerce and navigation

20. International Law: Law of
neutrality
• The United States has, throughout the conflict,
repeatedly stated its neutrality. Indeed, the
United States announced that it would observe
"a strict and scrupulous attitude of neutrality”
while being in the Persian Gulf.

21. Radio Communication
• IR655 was in radio contact with various air traffic control services using
standard civil aviation frequencies, and had spoken in English to Bandar
Abbas Approach Control.
• Vincennes at that time had no equipment suitable for monitoring civil
aviation frequencies. Nevertheless, other warships in the area were
equipped with VHF radios, and had access to the flight plan
information.
• The official ICAO report stated that 10 attempts were made to contact
Iran Air flight 655: 7 on military frequencies and 3 on commercial
frequencies, addressed to an "unidentified Iranian aircraft"
• International investigations concluded that the crew of IR655 assumed
that the three calls that they received before the missiles struck must
have been directed at an Iranian P-3 Orion

22. Potential Factors
• The ship's crew did not efficiently
consult commercial airliner schedules.
• The airliner's departure was 27 minutes
later than scheduled.
• Officer Andrew Anderson : "The Combat
Information Center (CIC) was very dark,
and the lights flickered
when Vincennes fired at some speedboats.
Anderson, picked up Flight 655 on radar
and thought that it might be a commercial
aircraft. As he was searching in the navy's
listing of commercial flights, he apparently
missed Flight 655 because it was so dark."

23. Potential Factors
• An Iranian P-3 Orion was in the area
some time before the attack, flying a
"classic targeting profile”.
Nonetheless, reports state that the
Airbus was immediately detected
after takeoff by Vincennes's AN/SPY-
1 radar at a range of 47 miles (76 km).
• The psychology and mindset after
engaging in a battle with
Iranian gunboats.
• There are claims that Vincennes was
engaged in an operation using a
decoy cargo ship to bring Iranian
gunboats into a fight.

24. Request of Iran to USA
The Islamic Republic seeks 3 kinds of reparation for the
violations by the United States of its international obligations:
• First, it seeks declaratory relief, and accordingly it calls upon the
Court to adjudge and declare that the United States has
violated its obligations under international law.
• Second, it submits that the Court should decide that the
United States is under an obligation to cease and refrain from
all such conduct as may constitute breaches of such obligations.
• Third, it seeks reparation for the damages caused by the
United States in shooting down IR 655, in a form and an amount to
be determined by the Court.

25. The United States refused to accept liability
The United States refused to accept liability for the
destruction of IR 655
• Failed to offer any compensation to the Islamic Republic.
• Failed to take steps to guarantee the non-repetition of such an
incident.
• The offer made, took the form of an “”ex gratia”” [Latin for "by
favour“]. Payment was made to the victims but not to the Islamic
Republic.
**Either the shooting down of IR 655 was intentional or it was grossly
negligent. In either case, the United States actions still have the
character of an international crime and the United States bears full
responsibility.

26. Aftermath
• Inside Iran, this shoot-down was perceived as a purposeful attack
by United States
• 1996, the United States agreed to pay Iran US$131.8 million in
settlement to discontinue a case brought by Iran in 1989 against
the U.S. in the ICJ
• $300,000 per adult victim and $150,000 underage victim.
• The U.S. government issued notes of regret for the loss of human
lives, but never apologized or acknowledged wrongdoing
• George H. W. Bush, the vice president of the United States at the
time said: "I will never apologize for the United States — I don't
care what the facts are... I'm not an apologize-for-America kind
of guy.“
• The incident overshadowed Iran–United States relations for
many years

27. Duty Medals
• Despite the mistakes made in the
downing of the plane, the men of
the Vincennes were awarded Combat
Action Ribbons for completion of
their tours in a combat zone.
• CAPT Will C. Rogers III received
the Navy Commendation Medal for
his actions relating to the surface
engagement with Iranian gunboats.
• In 1990, Rogers was awarded
the Legion of Merit "for exceptionally
meritorious conduct in the
performance of outstanding service
as commanding officer ... from April
1987 to May 1989."

28. Conclusion
Investigation shows ,the destruction of IR655 was a
mix of mistakes and aggressiveness of the captain and
crew of the USS Vinesennes due to Incidents happen
before in the Persian Gulf due to Iran-Iraq War, the
incident took 290 innocent lives including children.
United States must had have apologize and assume
their responsibilities, they must assure Iran that this
kind of incident won’t happen again. They must
compensate all liabilities of Islamic republic of Iran.
The crews of the USS must be punished instead of
giving medals and honor if US really think it was a
mistake.