Tehran Deplores US Court Ruling to Seize Iran’s Assets
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned a ruling by the US Supreme Court to uphold Congress and president’s actions to hold Iran financially responsible for the 1983 bombing that killed 241 Marines at their barracks in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
The 6-2 ruling on Wednesday allowed the families of the Marines and victims of other attacks that courts have linked to Iran to seize some $2 billion in assets held in New York’s Citibank, belonging to Bank Markazi, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which has been blocked under US sanctions.
Deploring the court ruling, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said it “contradicts the basic principles of the international laws”.
“The ruling has mocked justice and law,” he said, and added that the move “amounts to appropriation of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s property.”
He further warned that such measures would further deepen the distrust between Tehran and Washington.
