U.S. Official: Iran’s Complaint to International Court of Justice is Baseless
Following Iran’s complaint against the United States to the International Court of Justice over unilateral sanctions, a U.S. State Department official called the complaint baseless.
According to Reuters reporting on Tuesday, July 17, the State Department official, who requested anonymity, said: “We cannot comment on the details, but Iran’s request is baseless and we intend to vigorously defend the United States before the International Court of Justice.”
The International Court of Justice announced on Tuesday in a statement that the Islamic Republic filed a complaint against the United States on July 16.
The statement said that Tehran claims that Washington violated the Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights by imposing unilateral sanctions against Iran. This treaty was signed between the two countries in August 1955 and took effect in June 1957.
According to the statement, Iran has called for the lifting of U.S. sanctions and threats, as well as compensation from the United States. Reuters also reported that Iran requested the court to issue an order requiring the United States to temporarily lift sanctions while the case proceeds through legal proceedings.
The United States withdrew from the JCPOA on May 8. Following that, Brian Hook, Policy Director at the U.S. State Department, announced on July 2 that a new round of severe sanctions against Iran would be implemented on August 4, with the next phase on November 4, and efforts would be made to bring Iranian oil exports to zero.
Iran called the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA illegal from the beginning and said that if the European Union cooperates, it is willing to work to preserve the JCPOA without U.S. participation.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, announced the complaint to the court on Monday in a tweet, citing the reason as “illegal reimposition of unilateral sanctions” and said that Iran “remains committed to the rule of law in the face of the U.S. violation of legal obligations and diplomacy.”
According to ISNA, Iran’s Student News Agency, Bahram Qassemi, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, also said on Monday that the complaint was filed to “remedy and compensate for illegal U.S. actions in imposing sanctions” against Iran and “uphold the rights of the Iranian nation and pursue international legal action against U.S. violations.”
In the next phase, the case will proceed to trial. The trial date has not yet been set, but typically the court issues a provisional order several weeks after the complaint is filed, and a final decision is announced several months after that.
According to Reuters, Iran similarly filed a complaint against the United States at the International Court of Justice in 2016 based on the same claim of violating the Treaty of Amity, when Washington argued that the court lacked jurisdiction in this matter. The next hearing in the 2016 case is scheduled for October, about three months away.
The International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, is considered the highest court of the United Nations and its rulings are binding. However, the court has no power to enforce its decisions, and the United States has sometimes ignored its rulings.
Source: Radio Farda
