Rouhani's Government: US Courts Have Issued $56 Billion in Judgments Against Iran

Simultaneously with the Iranian government's report that there are $56 billion in judgments against the Islamic Republic in US courts, the director general of international affairs at the Central Bank announced that a group of experts has been sent to the US to negotiate the seizure of $2 billion of Iran's assets. According to the Russian news agency Sputnik, Hossein Yaghoubi Miab, the director general of international affairs at Iran's Central Bank, announced on Thursday, June 17, that Iran has sent a group of its experts to negotiate the seizure of $2 billion of its assets in the US. Mr. Yaghoubi, speaking at a meeting on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, also stated that teams had previously been sent to negotiate with US officials. This Central Bank official did not mention the timing of the delegation's departure or other details of their trip to the US. The US Supreme Court ruled on April 20 that $2 billion of Iran's frozen assets must be paid to the families of American victims of the 1983 bombing of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut and other attacks related to Iran, rejecting Iran's Central Bank's appeal. Iran has officially filed a complaint against the United States at the International Court of Justice, and the government’s website published a report of this complaint along with an image of it on Thursday. The complaint states that US courts have issued $56 billion in judgments against Iran "on the grounds of involvement in terrorist acts outside US territory." In its complaint, Iran accused the US of intervening in "freedom of trade" by "not recognizing the independent character of Iranian institutions, including the Central Bank." A special task force of Hassan Rouhani's government, which was set up to investigate the seizure of $2 billion of Iran's assets, accused officials of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government in a report on May 17 of failing to take "effective action" to remove purchased bonds from the reach of the US judicial system despite the rulings issued in US courts and "warnings from foreign sources, relevant domestic centers, and high institutions." In response, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office did not deny the purchase of these bonds during his administration but attributed the seizure of $2 billion of Iran's assets to the "weakness" of Hassan Rouhani's government in the international arena and the "arrogance" of American officials. Last week, a court in Canada ruled that $13 million from Iran's non-diplomatic assets in that country should be paid to the families of American victims of "terrorist" attacks by Hezbollah and Hamas groups. In this context, Iran has officially complained to the US over the seizure of $2 billion of its assets. Hassan Rouhani has strongly criticized the seizure of $2 billion of Iran's assets in the US. The US rejected the UN's mediation in the $2 billion case. Rouhani stated that people will be informed about the negligence of past officials in the $2 billion case. The government's task force emphasized judicial proceedings regarding "negligence in asset seizure." The Canadian court's ruling to pay compensation from Iran's non-diplomatic assets.