Letters 2025 - underlining indicates deletion by editor; square brackets indicate insertion.
To The Scotsman (17 Jan 25) not published?
The cause of the Lockerbie bombing on 21 December 1988 lies in the earlier shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655, a scheduled passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai. On 3 July 1988 the United States warship Vincennes fired two surface-to -air missiles which hit the Iran Air aircraft, an Airbus A300, while it was flying its usual route over Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. All 290 people on board were killed, making it one of the deadliest airliner shootdowns of all time. The shootdown occurred during the Iran-Iraq War, which had been ongoing for nearly eight years. Vincennes had entered Iranian territorial waters after one of its helicopters drew warning fire from Iranian speedboats operating within Iranian territorial limits.
The reason for the downing has been disputed between the governments of the two countries. According to the United States, Vincennes's crew misidentified the aircraft as an F-14 Tomcat, a US-made fighter jet part of the Iranian inventory, despite it transmitting civilian identification codes. They assert that Vincennes and other warships repeatedly contacted the aircraft on both civilian and military air distress frequencies, but received no response. The flight 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. Some analysts blamed the overly aggressive attitude of Vincennes's captain, William C. Rogers III, while others focused on more widespread issues and miscommunications on board.
Consequently the Lockerbie bombing was an act of revenge on the USA, organised by Iran but contracted to Libya.
The cause of the Lockerbie bombing on 21 December 1988 lies in the earlier shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655, a scheduled passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai. On 3 July 1988 the United States warship Vincennes fired two surface-to -air missiles which hit the Iran Air aircraft, an Airbus A300, while it was flying its usual route over Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. All 290 people on board were killed, making it one of the deadliest airliner shootdowns of all time. The shootdown occurred during the Iran-Iraq War, which had been ongoing for nearly eight years. Vincennes had entered Iranian territorial waters after one of its helicopters drew warning fire from Iranian speedboats operating within Iranian territorial limits.
The reason for the downing has been disputed between the governments of the two countries. According to the United States, Vincennes's crew misidentified the aircraft as an F-14 Tomcat, a US-made fighter jet part of the Iranian inventory, despite it transmitting civilian identification codes. They assert that Vincennes and other warships repeatedly contacted the aircraft on both civilian and military air distress frequencies, but received no response. The flight 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. Some analysts blamed the overly aggressive attitude of Vincennes's captain, William C. Rogers III, while others focused on more widespread issues and miscommunications on board.
Consequently the Lockerbie bombing was an act of revenge on the USA, organised by Iran but contracted to Libya.