Obama Administration: Supreme Court Should Reject Iran's Central Bank Appeal

A U.S. Justice Department official has urged the Supreme Court to oppose the Central Bank of Iran's appeal regarding its $2 billion in frozen assets. According to the American newspaper 'Wall Street Journal', Donald Veerily, the fourth-ranking official at the U.S. Justice Department, requested on Thursday, August 29, that the Supreme Court reject the Central Bank of Iran's appeal. Reuters reported on April 6 that the Supreme Court had asked the Obama administration to comment on whether a hearing should be held regarding the Central Bank of Iran's appeal. The appeal concerns a ruling issued by the New York Court of Appeals in 2014, which stated that $1.75 billion of Iran's deposits at Citibank in the U.S. should be paid as compensation to the victims' families of the 1983 bombing at the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 American servicemen. The victims' families had claimed that Hezbollah was involved in the bombing and that Hezbollah received support from Iran. Iran's funds are currently held in escrow, and if the Supreme Court decides not to hear the Central Bank's request, the funds must be paid to the victims' families. The issue of compensation for the victims' families entered a new phase with a court ruling in 2007, which ordered $2.65 billion to be paid to the victims' families. In 2010, the U.S. government became aware of assets linked to the Central Bank of Iran in an account at Citibank in New York. Following this, a request for compensation through the Central Bank's assets was made, and a federal court in New York ruled in favor of the victims' families. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Iran argues that under a 1955 treaty between the two countries, the U.S. has no right to touch this money. In this context, the Supreme Court sought the Obama administration's opinion on receiving compensation from Iran.