The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday rejected Iran’s bid to unblock nearly $2 billion in bank assets frozen by the United States, but also ruled that Washington had illegally seized some other funds.
According to the United Nation’s top court, Washington’s freezing of funds belonging to several Iranian individuals and companies was “manifestly unreasonable” and the U.S. was ordered to pay compensation.
In a reaction shared by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, it hailed the decision as “highlighting the legitimacy” of its positions and “expressing the wrongful behavior of the United States.” However, the U.S. State Department said the decision was a “major blow to Iran’s attempts to avoid its responsibility.”
The ruling came amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran after tit-for-tat airstrikes between Iran-backed forces and American personnel in Syria last week. Relations have been strained after attempts to revive a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world power stalled, and as Iranian supports Russia militarily against Ukraine.
The 1955 “Treaty of Amity” was signed long before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed shah and severed ties with Washington.
Rulings from the ICJ 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.
– 24 News
Great. Now Biden is going to give Iran a few billion dollars to sponsor terrorism around the world.
To quote Andrew Jackso “John Marshal (Chief Justice Supreme Court) has made his decision; now let him enforce it!
About as meaningless to enforce as the arrest of putin