Iran files lawsuit against US at IC Justice over seized assetse: Rouhani
Iran has filed a lawsuit against the United States at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) demanding compensation over the seizure of USD 2 billion worth of the country's assets by a top American court.
President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that Iran had filed the lawsuit with the ICJ a day earlier, vowing that his administration will pursue the case to its end.
On April 20, the US Supreme Court ruled that about USD 2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a US Marine Corps barracks in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran. Tehran has long rejected allegations of involvement in the 1983 Beirut bombing.
The money confiscated under the US court ruling belongs to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). The assets were blocked under US sanctions.
Rouhani, who was delivering a speech to families of war martyrs and veterans in Tehran, called the verdict by the American court as illegitimate, saying that the case of American nationals killed in Lebanon has nothing to do with Iran.
“It is not clear what the Americans were doing in Lebanon and how is the case related to Iran,” Rouhani said, vowing that Iran will never keep silent on the issue and that legal action will continue until the sum and all related compensations are retrieved.
In an interview with the New Yorker published on April 25, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the seizure of Iran's frozen assets by the US was “highway robbery,” vowing that the Islamic Republic will retrieve the sum anyway.
“It is a theft. Huge theft. It is highway robbery. And believe you me, we will get it back,” he added.
On April 28, Zarif wrote a letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, saying Tehran reserves the right to take countermeasures in response to the decision made by the court.
UN spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, on April 29 confirmed the receipt of Zarif's letter and said, "The secretary general's good offices are always available should both parties to whatever tensions or issue request it."
Iran dismisses Arab League accusations, says wants stability in Syria
Iran FM in China for 'more consultations' amid 'sensitive' circumstances
Iran FM: China visit will mark 'golden' era in strategic ties
VIDEO | Iran honors female trailblazers during Women's Week
Missile fired from Yemen triggers sirens in Israeli-occupied lands
VIDEO | S Korean legal battles rage as presidential impeachment trial begins
VIDEO | Over 80% of mosques in Gaza destroyed by Israeli regime
VIDEO | Jordanians take to streets of Amman to support Resistance
VIDEO | Protests erupt in Pakistan over Parachinar crisis
US and UK launch new airstrikes on Yemeni capital
Homelessness up 18 percent in US in last year
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
