Iranian Officials Protest Potential Seizure of Central Bank Assets in the U.S.

Simultaneously with the protests from the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, the Speaker of Parliament, and the Chief Justice of Iran regarding the potential seizure of the Islamic Republic's Central Bank assets in the U.S. for compensating victims of terrorist incidents, 166 Iranian parliament members have signed a proposal titled "Compensation and Damages from the U.S. Government." According to the state news agency IRNA, Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, said on Tuesday, December 7, "One cannot pass new laws and procedures every day to create hostile restrictions and illegally steal the assets of the Iranian people while simultaneously speaking beautifully about trust-building and goodwill." Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, also described the potential seizure of Iran's blocked assets in the U.S. as a "tyrannical" and "theft-like" action. Mr. Larijani stated that "America will certainly hear the response to this action, and we are planning in this regard." On Tuesday, the Chief Justice of Iran also considered what he termed "America's encroachment on Iran's banking assets" as a "malicious and noteworthy action." Sadeq Amoli Larijani emphasized that the actions of the "U.S. government" in recent weeks, including the travel restriction resolution to the United States, are "in practice a violation" of the Vienna nuclear agreement. In the U.S. federal budget for 2016, one billion dollars from the nine billion dollar fine imposed on BNP Paribas for violating sanctions against Iran, Sudan, and Cuba is allocated for compensating victims of terrorism, but potentially more assets may be considered for future claims. One of the mentioned sources for adding to the fund includes the blocked assets of the Central Bank of Iran, which is disputed in the Peterson case. A few years ago, Deborah Peterson, the sister of one of the victims of the 1983 Beirut bombing, and the families of other victims of this incident, after learning about the existence of the Central Bank of Iran's assets at Citibank in New York, demanded compensation from these assets. The Obama administration ordered the seizure of the Central Bank's assets at Citibank about three years ago, and some American lawmakers, along with Peterson and others, continue to support this issue. Iran is seeking a review of this decision, and the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear Iran's arguments during the appeal next month. If the final ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court is not in favor of the Central Bank, then more than two billion dollars of this bank's assets could also be added to the compensation fund for American victims of state-sponsored terrorism. Hossein Jaberi Ansari, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, warned the U.S. on Thursday, December 3, that if the Central Bank's assets are seized for compensating victims of terrorist incidents, the U.S. will be responsible for compensating Iran. Meanwhile, according to Fars News Agency, Ebrahim Karkani, head of the Parliament's nuclear committee, announced on Tuesday that several parliament members have signed an urgent proposal for "compensation and damages from the U.S. government." According to Mr. Karkani, based on this proposal, which has so far been signed by 166 parliament members, the Iranian government is obligated to "take necessary legal actions regarding obtaining certain compensations and damages from the U.S. government." This proposal has not yet been presented to the Iranian Parliament's board. Protests against the potential seizure of the Central Bank's assets come as Islamic Republic officials have also protested the U.S. Congress's resolution regarding travel restrictions to the U.S. in recent weeks, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, stated that if "this resolution is implemented as it is," it will "definitely violate the Vienna nuclear agreement." The new restrictions in the U.S. visa waiver program, which were approved on December 17 as part of the current budget bill and signed by Barack Obama, require citizens of 38 visa-exempt countries traveling to the U.S. to apply for a visa if they have traveled to four countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Sudan.