Washington asks court to drop case over frozen Iranian assets linked to deaths in Lebanon bombing and other terrorist attacks

Washington has asked the International Court of Justice to dismiss the case of frozen Iranian assets related to the deaths in the 1983 bombing in Lebanon and other attacks “related to Tehran.”

Specifically, the United States called on the International Court of Justice to dismiss Iran’s claim for the return of about $2 billion worth of frozen Iranian assets awarded by the US Supreme Court for the deaths in the 1983 Lebanon bombing and other Tehran-related attacks. The United Nations, for the first time, has invoked a legal principle known as “unclean hands” that prohibits a country from starting legal proceedings for crimes related to the case at hand.

“The whole Iran case must be dropped on the basis of the principle of unclean hands,” Fisk told the judges in the Grand Hall of Justice of the court, adding: “The essence of this defense is that Iran’s outrageous behavior and sponsorship of terrorist acts against the United States and American citizens lies at the basis of his accusations.”

Fisk pointed out that the court did not use the principle of “unclean hands” protection as a reason for refusing to hear cases, but it has been successfully applied in international arbitration cases with this.

On Monday, Iran declared the confiscation of US assets an attempt to destabilize the Tehran government and a violation of international law. It took its case to court in 2016 following a decision by the US Supreme Court to use withheld Iranian Central Bank funds to compensate 241 victims. about the 1983 bombing of an American military base in Lebanon, in which Tehran is believed to be involved.

The International Court of Justice ruled on its jurisdiction in the case in 2019, rejecting U.S. arguments that their national security interests would invalidate the 1955 Friendship Treaty signed during the Shah’s rule.

Source: “AB”

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