Iranian court orders US to pay $50 b. in ‘damages’
As world powers, Tehran work to finalize nuclear deal, judiciary spokesman says Washington must cover 'losses' since 1979
An Iranian court on Monday ordered the US to compensate the Islamic Republic with $50 billion for damages incurred since the 1979 revolution, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
The verdict was announced by Iran’s Judiciary Spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, formerly the attorney general, as world powers and Iran in Vienna were working to finalize a nuclear deal.
The ruling maintains the Obama administration must “compensate for a part of the losses it has inflicted on Iranian legal entities and real persons.”
“Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the US has inflicted heavy loss and damage on the country, including killing the Iranian nationals by assisting their enemies, including Saddam and different terrorist groups against Tehran,” the Fars report said.
Diplomats from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany are negotiating with Tehran for a deal that would see Iran scale down its atomic activities in order to make any drive to make the atomic bomb all but impossible
Marathon talks on a nuclear deal with Iran have made “real progress” but issues remain, the White House said Monday, suggesting negotiations in Vienna would stretch into another day.
“They have made genuine progress… but there continues to be some sticking points that remain unresolved,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.