World
Judge Kirill Gevorgian presides over a hearing of the ICJ in The Hague, Netherlands on March 30, 2023. Photo: Jan Hennop / AFPTV / ICJ / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday ruled that the US had illegally allowed American courts to freeze assets of some Iranian companies and ordered the US to pay compensation. The court, however, ruled against Iran on the matter of $1.75 billion in frozen assets belonging to the Iranian central bank.
Tehran’s foreign ministry welcomed the judgement as “proof of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s righteousness and the violations by the US government” while Washington hailed it as a “major victory for the United States and victims of Iran’s State-sponsored terrorism.”
In 2016, Iran filed a complaint at the International Court of Justice claiming that the US had violated the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights, by freezing assets of Iran and Iranian companies. The money was to be used to pay compensation to terror victims.
The US withdrew from the treaty in 2018, but the court ruled the US had “violated its obligations” under the accord when it froze assets. The ICJ decided it had no jurisdiction over $1.75 billion in assets of Iran’s central bank because the bank is not a commercial entity and so not protected under the treaty.
Claiming that the ICJ rejected the “vast majority” of Iran’s case, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said, “Iran sought to use the Treaty to challenge payments to U.S. victims of Iran-sponsored terrorism who obtained U.S. court judgments against Iran. The decision today is a significant blow to Iran’s attempt to avoid its responsibility, in particular to the families of U.S. peacekeepers who were killed in the 1983 bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.”
Iran’s foreign ministry said the ICJ “correctly rejected all the fake defenses of the US… The fact that [the] court’s ruling requires the US to make reparations for the losses is the key reason for the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s demand.”
The amount of compensation that the US must pay will be assessed by the court at a later date.
Tensions between Iran and the United States are high after a deadly tit-for-tat exchange of fire between their forces and allies in Syria last week. Their relationship has been strained since the US withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal in 2015 and attempts to revive the accord have stalled.
Tehran’s foreign ministry welcomed the judgement as “proof of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s righteousness and the violations by the US government” while Washington hailed it as a “major victory for the United States and victims of Iran’s State-sponsored terrorism.”
In 2016, Iran filed a complaint at the International Court of Justice claiming that the US had violated the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights, by freezing assets of Iran and Iranian companies. The money was to be used to pay compensation to terror victims.
The US withdrew from the treaty in 2018, but the court ruled the US had “violated its obligations” under the accord when it froze assets. The ICJ decided it had no jurisdiction over $1.75 billion in assets of Iran’s central bank because the bank is not a commercial entity and so not protected under the treaty.
Claiming that the ICJ rejected the “vast majority” of Iran’s case, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said, “Iran sought to use the Treaty to challenge payments to U.S. victims of Iran-sponsored terrorism who obtained U.S. court judgments against Iran. The decision today is a significant blow to Iran’s attempt to avoid its responsibility, in particular to the families of U.S. peacekeepers who were killed in the 1983 bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.”
Iran’s foreign ministry said the ICJ “correctly rejected all the fake defenses of the US… The fact that [the] court’s ruling requires the US to make reparations for the losses is the key reason for the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s demand.”
The amount of compensation that the US must pay will be assessed by the court at a later date.
Tensions between Iran and the United States are high after a deadly tit-for-tat exchange of fire between their forces and allies in Syria last week. Their relationship has been strained since the US withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal in 2015 and attempts to revive the accord have stalled.
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