Tehran: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has commemorated the anniversary of the 1988 downing of an Iranian passenger aircraft by a US warship, describing the incident as one of the gravest crimes committed against the Iranian nation.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, in a post on X marking the anniversary, Baqaei said Iran would never forget the unforgivable crime committed by the US administration of the time. He recalled that on July 3, 1988, Iran Air Flight 655, en route from Tehran to Dubai, was struck by two missiles fired from the USS Vincennes over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people on board, including 66 children.

Baqaei also criticized the United States for awarding a Badge of Military Merit to the commander of the warship involved in the incident, calling it a bitter irony. The spokesman paid tribute to the victims of Flight 655 and reiterated that the memory of the tragedy remains alive in Iran, stressing that the country would continue to remember an unforgivable act by the United States.