News / Politics / Politics

ICJ sets mid-May as deadline for US to explain measures on Iran bans removal

Saturday, 30 March 2019 5:41 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 30 March 2019 6:04 PM ]

A general view of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing in The Hague, on October 1, 2018 (Photo by AFP)

Iran says the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set May 15 as the deadline for the US to give detailed accounts of its measures to lift sanctions on humanitarian supplies to the country.

The ICJ has informed the US of the deadline in a letter, Iranian legal representative at the ICJ Mohsen Mohebbi told IRNA on Saturday.

Washington is required to report to the Court about measures it was supposed to carry out regarding the ICJ’s orders with respect to the removal of Iran bans, Mohebbi said.

Back in October 2018, the ICJ ordered the United States to halt the unilateral sanctions it had re-imposed on "humanitarian" supplies to Iran.

The Hague-based court, which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, announced its ruling on October 3 regarding the July 2018 lawsuit brought by Tehran against Washington's decision to re-impose unilateral sanctions following the US exit from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.

PressTV-Iran wins suit against US sanctions at highest UN court

In a definitive victory for Tehran, the International Court of Justice orders Washington to halt unilateral sanctions that endanger the flow of 'humanitarian' supplies into Iran.

The decisions of the ICJ – which rules on disputes between UN member states – are legally binding.

The ruling requires Washington to allow supply of medicine and medical devices, food and agricultural goods and airplane parts, which directly deal with human lives, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassem.

Iran’s lawsuit argued that the sanctions violate the terms of the 1955 Treaty of Amity between Iran and the US, which the latter canceled following the October ruling.

The US claims it has formally exempted humanitarian supplies, but banks and financial institutions refuse to process Iran-related transactions for fear of provoking US sanctions.

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