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US says has not received Iran’s protest over court rulings

27 Apr 2016 - 15:38


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said Washington has not yet received Iran’s notes of protest over two recent court rulings against the Islamic Republic.

“…we’ve obviously seen the media reports that they did summon him (Swiss ambassador) in, as you note, but we don’t have any kind of readout yet. I – we can certainly try to share what they convey, but I’m not sure how much I can share,” Toner said during a daily press briefing on Tuesday as reported by the official website of the US Department of State.

The remarks came after Director General of Iran’s Foreign Ministry for American Affairs Mohammad Keshavarz-Zadeh on Tuesday summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran to submit two official notes to him in protest at the two recent rulings US courts have issued against Iran.

The Swiss embassy represents US interests in Iran.

The Iranian diplomat slammed the US decision to seize the Central Bank of Iran’s assets in an American bank as a brazen violation of Washington’s bilateral agreements with Tehran.

Keshavarz-Zadeh noted that the verdict is in breach of the US international legal commitments and also violates the immunity of the Iranian government’s assets.

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

The ruling allows 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 the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which has been blocked under US sanctions.

Keshavarz-Zadeh also strongly protested another US court ruling that has held Iran liable for damages in the 9/11 terror attacks.

Last month, a federal judge in New York ordered Tehran to pay $11 billion in compensation to families of 9/11 attack victims.

Describing the charges as “baseless”, Keshavarz-Zadeh said there is no clue to Iran’s role or to the participation of Iranian nationals in the attacks.

The Swiss ambassador said he will immediately let the US Department of State know about Iran’s protest and will report back to Iran.

By Tasnim News Agency


Story Code: 211490

News Link :
https://www.theiranproject.com/en/news/211490/us-says-has-not-received-iranç—´-protest-over-court-rulings

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