Hassan Rouhani Strongly Criticizes the Seizure of Two Billion Dollars of Iran's Assets in the U.S.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani described the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to seize two billion dollars of Iran's assets as "blatant theft," "international piracy," and a "major legal scandal." He also stated that the "negligence" of the previous government in this matter is "related to internal issues of the country." According to ISNA news agency, Rouhani on Wednesday, April 27, called the ruling "contrary to international law" and emphasized the "immunity" that, according to him, "central banks have legally in the world." Rouhani mentioned that "there has never been a precedent where legislative representatives have passed laws to compel the judiciary on such matters or similar cases." The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 20 that two billion dollars of Iran's frozen assets should be paid to the families of American victims of the 1983 bombing at the U.S. Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut and other attacks "linked" to the Islamic Republic. Other cases related to the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, which left 19 dead, and other attacks carried out by militia groups "linked to Tehran" have also been raised. Last year, lawyers for Iran's central bank requested a review of the Supreme Court's rulings issued by American courts against its assets. Meanwhile, Hamid Baidi-Nejad, the director-general of political affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated that the central bank's objection to the initial court ruling in 2012, a year before the Geneva agreement, "eliminated the possibility of political intervention" in this case. The state-run newspaper Iran reported on Wednesday that an "informed source" from the central bank, whose name was not disclosed, announced that the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council, under the management of Saeed Jalili, had issued a "permit" to pursue this case in U.S. courts. Additionally, according to Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, based on a resolution from the Supreme National Security Council, the presence of official institutions of the Islamic Republic in American courts is "prohibited." Rouhani further stated: "Of course, what actions and negligence occurred in previous governments is a matter related to internal issues of the country, which will be examined in due course and explained to the people." He added: "However, this move is undoubtedly an overt aggression and hostility from the U.S. against the Iranian nation, and they cannot exploit and benefit from this decision without facing consequences." Following reports about the Supreme Court's ruling, some conservative figures and media, as well as close associates of the Supreme Leader, including Mohammad Reza Naqdi, head of the Basij organization, and Mohammad Nabi Habibi, Secretary-General of the Motalefeh Party, criticized Rouhani's government for its "optimism" towards the U.S. In contrast, officials from Rouhani's government, including the First Vice President, Minister of Intelligence, Foreign Minister, and Central Bank Governor, blamed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government for purchasing bonds that facilitated American claimants' access to these assets, with Akbar Turkan, a senior advisor to Rouhani, calling for the prosecution of Ahmadinejad's officials. In response to these accusations, Ahmadinejad's office issued a statement on Wednesday attributing the incident to the "weakness" of Rouhani's government in the international arena and the "arrogance" of American officials. The statement did not deny the purchase of bonds during Ahmadinejad's administration. IRNA news agency reported on April 23, citing "an informed source at the International Legal Affairs Center of the Presidency," that the previous government had purchased securities through a Luxembourg broker (named Clearstream) in 2007-2008. According to the report, this broker "kept part of these securities in Europe and another part physically at Citibank in the U.S., which allowed American claimants to seize them."