Iranian Official: Order to Seize $5 Billion of Central Bank Assets in Italy Canceled

Mohsen Mohibi, head of the International Legal Affairs Center of the Iranian Presidency, announced on Wednesday: "The Rome Court of Appeals rejected a request from a group of American plaintiffs to seize approximately $5 billion of the Central Bank's assets." In an interview with IRNA, Mr. Mohibi stated: "The American court's ruling has not yet been recognized in Italy, but the Rome court had issued a temporary seizure order based solely on the request of American plaintiffs and according to Italian law." According to the head of the International Legal Affairs Center, the cancellation of the seizure order for the Central Bank's assets in Italy occurred "following the continuous efforts of this center and the lawyers of the Central Bank of Iran in Italy." Mohsen Mohibi did not explain under what ruling and based on which accusations the assets of the Central Bank of Iran were seized. However, previously, the U.S. Supreme Court had blocked about $2 billion of Iran's assets as compensation for its involvement in the 1983 Lebanon bombing, which targeted U.S. Marines. Based on a 2007 U.S. federal court ruling, Iran was ordered to pay $2.65 billion in damages to the families of the victims of the 1983 bombing at the U.S. Marines' headquarters in Beirut and other Iran-related attacks. Following the confirmation of this ruling in 2014, nearly $2 billion of the seized assets of the Central Bank of Iran were confiscated to compensate the families of the mentioned bombing victims. Iran filed a lawsuit against the United States in the Hague Court to recover these assets based on the Treaty of Amity between Iran and the U.S. Two days prior, the United States had requested the International Court of Justice to dismiss Iran's case regarding the blocked assets related to the 1983 bombing victims. On Wednesday, October 10, the second day of the court hearing regarding Iran's complaint against the U.S. at the International Court of Justice in The Hague took place, where Iranian lawyers accused the U.S. of accusing Iran of supporting terrorism to "escape accountability for the charges." Mohsen Mohibi, head of the Iranian delegation, stated at the beginning of the second session of the hearing: "The Treaty of Amity encompasses all bilateral economic relations, and the U.S. behavior towards Iranian companies and institutions, including the Central Bank, severely violates this treaty and its provisions." He emphasized that the U.S. intention to withdraw from the Treaty would not affect this case. The International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled last week that the United States must ensure that its unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic do not negatively impact essential goods or the safety of passenger flights. Following this temporary ruling, the U.S. protested the International Court's ruling in The Hague, claiming the court lacked the necessary jurisdiction to adjudicate this case. Subsequently, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the U.S. withdrawal from the "Treaty of Amity" between the United States and Iran. The Treaty of Amity, formally known as the "Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights," was signed on August 14, 1955, in Tehran between the United States and the Imperial Government of Iran. Article 23, Section 3 of this treaty stipulates that either party may terminate it with "written notice for a period of one year." The announcement of the U.S. intention to withdraw from this treaty was met with a reaction from Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, who referred to the U.S. government as "rebellious" on his Twitter account. Iranian lawyers in the second session of the hearing regarding Tehran's complaint against Washington in The Hague referred to the historical background of reciprocal complaints between Washington and Tehran, including the "hostage-taking of U.S. embassy members in Tehran" and "U.S. defenses in the case of attacks on Iranian oil platforms" based on the Treaty of Amity in the same court in The Hague, considering this historical background as evidence of both parties' endorsement of the Treaty of Amity and the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction in these matters. The Iranian delegation's lawyers described the "blocking of Iranian assets by the U.S. government and other actions by this country as a punishment for the general Iranian populace." John Bolton, former National Security Advisor to Donald Trump, had previously emphasized that the U.S. dispute was with the Ayatollahs, not the Iranian people, stating that the Ayatollahs had "turned Iran into a rogue state." Mohsen Mohibi, head of the International Legal Affairs Center of the Presidency, identified the National Bank of Iran, Iran's Communication Infrastructure Company, and Iran Air as other companies targeted by U.S. policies towards Iran and Iranian companies. The International Court of Justice in The Hague had previously suspended some U.S. sanctions against Iran related to flight safety, medicine, and essential goods after four days of oral hearings and several weeks of case review, but a final ruling may take several years.