Iran's President, Hassan Rouhani's administration is going to sue the US in International Court of Justice over a ruling delivered by the US Supreme Court. The court ruling has upheld a 2012 law passed by Congress permitting to receive damages by the American victims of terror attacks in Beirut and Saudi Arabia. $2 billion from Iranian central bank's frozen assets has been ordered to cover up compensation fund.
The dispute appears although a better bilateral relation has been expected in between Tehran and Washington following a landmark nuclear deal during last July. Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General has expressed eagerness for resolving the dispute subject to receipt of requests from both the governments, reports The Daily Star.
The Iranian President has vowed to take the case of the $2 billion to international court while addressing a public rally in Kerman of southeastern Iran on Tuesday. He has also committed not allowing the US to swallow the money so easily, reports RT.
His commitments also include not sparing any effort towards restoration of the nation's rights through legal, political and banking channels. President Rouhani has also criticized former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for not adopting sufficient measures to safeguard the national assets during his legislation. A decision by the Ahmadinejad government on purchasing dollar denominated securities in 2008 has paved way for the assets' confiscation, inform the Iranian officials. The former government has got 10 months to siphon the money out of the US. But they have failed to act accordingly amid high risks for confiscating the assets by the US government, Rouhani continues while criticizing his predecessor. The US court has ruled on April 20 turning over $2 billion of Iranian assets to the families of the American victims of 1983 bombing in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. The court ruling stands valid for the other American victims of attacks blamed on Iran. However, the Islamic Republic has denied all allegations for perpetrating and aiding the attacks, according to a report published in Trend News Agency. Rouhani administration has reportedly set up a committee to probe former government's oversight and failure to safeguard the assets. The committee is expected to release a report shortly. The confiscated assets have previously been blocked under the US sanctions.
