Iranian Sense of Justice Demands Family Payments

The tragic attack on Iran Air Flight 655 by the Vincennes on July 3 is an incident that may fade in American memory but it will unfortunately never be forgotten in Iran.

The conduct of the U.S. government in handling the aftermath of the tragedy is now crucial if America is to retain the possibility of ameliorating relations with this or any future Iranian government.

A number of American politicians and officials have suggested that the United States make reparations to the families of victims. Thus far the Administration has resisted this suggestion, but it should not. If undertaken quickly, such a gesture could improve the situation created by this tragedy in a dramatic way. This is not only the correct thing to do in a moral sense; it is also the correct thing to do in a strategic sense.

Memories in the Middle East are very long, particularly concerning perceived injustice. Iranian culture maintains a long catalogue of crimes against humanity, going back to the Arab invasion of Iran in the 7th Century, that remain live issues even today. A reflection on these crimes never fails to inflame passion. The United States has already accumulated a large number of actions in the eyes of Iranians for which it will never really be forgiven, and the downing of Iran Air 655 qualifies as potentially the worst of these.

There is a tremendous gap in American and Iranian sensibilities on questions of accidental tragedy like this. In America we are obsessed with assessing blame and determining fault (with the implication that if there was no fault then blame cannot be assessed). Iranians, on the other hand, are far more concerned with the way the injuring and injured parties conduct themselves in dealing with the tragedy.

To understand Iranian feelings in this case it is important to comprehend the workings of popular morality. The test of human conduct in Iranian society often comes down to two factors: ensaf , roughly translated as justice or fairness, and ensaniat , or humaneness. One of the difficulties that all right-thinking persons face in their lives is how to balance these concepts.

Justice and humaneness are seen as reciprocal: Nothing is justified if it has inhumane consequences. The balance between the two is maintained by a strong belief in retribution. Injustice or lack of humane behavior is seen as sure to be punished by some force, divine or human, if it remains uncorrected by the perpetrator.

The factor triggering retribution is “unrepentant” inhumane behavior. Examples of the working of retribution with regard to the United States include President Jimmy Carter’s election loss, seen as just punishment for his unrepentant support of the shah. The entire Iran-Iraq War is an exercise in retribution-- both against Iraq’s ruler, Saddam Hussein, who dared to make an unrepentant incursion against the Islamic Republic, and against a world that continues to ignore this injustice.

From an Iranian standpoint the U.S. government has thus far behaved in an extraordinarily insensitive manner regarding Flight 655. Although the Administration sent a private letter of condolence to the Iranian government, its immediate reaction--which was what the Iranian public heard--was to declare the U.S. action justifiable and, later, understandable. Although this may be true in a narrow, tactical, military sense, such words are read by Iranians as proof of the U.S. government’s lack of humaneness.

Whereas the Administration is speaking in terms of responsibility and assessing fault, Iranians are speaking in more universal, moral terms where such incidents could never be justified or understandable.

The U.S. position on this has thus far served to convince Iranians that the United States is indeed engaged with them in a grand struggle between good and evil, with Iraq as a co-participant. The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who is a firm believer in the forces of retribution, demonstrated this in his reaction to the tragedy, saying: “We must all be prepared for a real war and go to the war fronts and fight against America and its lackeys.”

In Islamic law, in cases of this kind, there need be no revenge or retribution if the injured parties are compensated for their loss. This compensation can be made in the form of cash payments to the families of victims. Unlike in the United States, making reparations of this kind does not necessarily imply responsibility or blame, since accidental occurrences can be seen as a result of divine will. Willingness to compensate victims does show humane sensitivity toward the person for whom the tragedy is most real--the families of those killed.

Such a gesture--already suggested by Jesse Jackson, House Speaker Jim Wright and others--would not constitute “giving in” to the Iranian regime. It would in fact undercut the worst accusations now being leveled against the United States by Iranian leaders.

There is no question that the United States must someday make peace with Iran, although there are forces within both Iran and the United States that do not want relations to improve. It is ironic that tentative talks had once again begun between Iranian and U.S. officials before the downing of the Iran Air flight.

The United States should thus offer reparations soon, or the opportunity to recover from this unfortunate incident will be lost forever.