The International Court of Justice rules that Washington violated the 1955 friendship treaty with Tehran, which was still in place when US courts froze the assets of Iranian companies.
In a partial victory for Iran, judges at the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) have ruled Washington had
illegally allowed courts to freeze the assets of Iranian companies
and ordered the United States to pay compensation, the amount of
which will be determined later.
However, in a blow for Tehran, the World Court said during Thursday’s ruling that it
did not have jurisdiction over $1.75 billion in frozen assets
from Iran’s central bank, by far the largest amount claimed back
by Iran.
The case before the ICJ, also known as the World Court, was initially brought by Tehran against Washington in 2016 for allegedly breaching a 1955 friendship treaty by allowing US courts to freeze the assets of Iranian companies.
The money was to be given in compensation to victims of terrorist attacks.
In hearings last year the US argued the whole case should be dismissed because Iran has “unclean hands” and the asset seizures were the result of Tehran’s alleged sponsoring of terrorism.
The court dismissed this defence entirely and ruled the treaty was valid.
The Islamic Republic denies supporting international terrorism.
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READ HERE: the full text of the #ICJ Judgment on the merits of the case concerning Certain Iranian Assets (#Iran v. #UnitedStates) https://t.co/3UccGkwXlV pic.twitter.com/Tmmh3KzmJH
— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) March 30, 2023
Binding ruling
The 1950s friendship treaty was signed long before Iran’s
1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled the US-backed shah, severing US-Iranian relations.
Washington finally withdrew from the treaty in 2018.
Nonetheless, the ICJ ruled that as it was in place at the time of
the freezing of the assets of Iranian commercial companies and
entities, Washington violated the treaty.
The judges explained the court had no jurisdiction over
the $1.75 billion in assets from Iran’s central bank held by the
US because that bank was not a commercial enterprise and thus
not protected by the treaty.
The rulings of the ICJ, the United Nations’ top court, are binding, but it has no means of enforcing them. The United States and Iran are among a handful of countries to have disregarded its decisions in the past.
The ICJ ruling comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran after tit-for-tat strikes between Iran-backed forces and US personnel in Syria last week.
Relations are also strained after attempts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major world powers stalled and as Iranian drones are being used by Russia against Ukraine.
READ MORE: Iranian drones used in Ukraine built with western parts: Report
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
ICC rules US illegally froze Iranian assets, orders to pay compensation
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