Iran appeals to Int'l Court against terror compensation ruling - Ben Ariel

by Ben Ariel

Iran complains to International Court over American Supreme Court’s ruling that it compensate families of terror attack victims.

Iran has filed a formal complaint with the International Court of Justice over the American Supreme Court’s ruling that nearly $2 billion in assets frozen in the United States will be recovered as compensation to families of victims of terrorist attacks linked to the Islamic Republic, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The Supreme Court ruled in April that the assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran.

Iran rejected the Supreme Court ruling shortly after it was issued, calling it “a theft of the assets and properties of the Islamic Republic of Iran” and saying the ruling is "tantamount to ridiculing justice and law and it does not create any right for the U.S. nationals."

The Iranian complaint was filed on Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani said at an "iftar" evening gathering in Tehran to break the Islamic Ramadan fast.

"The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran officially complained about America to the International Court of Justice for the confiscation and theft of two billion dollars of the property of the central bank," Rouhani said, according to Reuters, "and demanded the condemnation of Washington's anti-Iranian action and compensation for damages."

More than 1,000 plaintiffs in the case have accused Iran of providing material support to its terrorist proxy Hezbollah, which was responsible for the 1983 truck bomb attack that killed 241 U.S. service personnel in Beirut.

They also sought compensation related to other attacks including the 1996 Khobar Towers truck bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 American service personnel.

It remains unclear how Iran's complaint to the International Court of Justice may affect the payments.

"We shouldn't stay quiet in the face of this incident and we will pursue this complaint until it reaches a result," Rouhani said, according to Reuters.


Ben Ariel

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/213709#.V2K5ZKKzddt

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