US to Be Held Accountable for Iran’s Frozen Assets, Zarif Says


US to Be Held Accountable for Iran’s Frozen Assets, Zarif Says

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday shrugged off a recent US court ruling to seize Iran’s frozen assets, stressing that Tehran will hold Washington accountable if it refuses to unfreeze the money.

The US Supreme Court upheld the Congress and president’s actions to hold Iran financially responsible for the 1983 bombing that killed 241 US Marines at their barracks in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

In reaction to the ruling, Zarif said, “As we earlier said, we do not recognize this court’s ruling, and the US administration is well aware of it.”

The US also knows well that if it makes any move with regard to Iran’s assets, they will be held accountable in the future, and should return all the properties to Iran, he went on to say.

Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari also deplored the court ruling, saying it “contradicts the basic principles of the international law”.

“The ruling has mocked justice and law,” he said,adding 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.

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.

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