Iranian University to Claim Damages over EU Sanctions

“An international committee is to be set up to review the case and file a claim for damages the sanctions incurred on the university, Mahmoud Fotouhi told the Tasnim News Agency.

Fotouhi also said the university officials are in talks with Iran’s foreign ministry to pursue the issue.

Sharif University of Technology is Iran’s foremost higher education institute in the field of science and technology. As a civilian school, it attracts the best and the brightest, alongside other schools such as the University of Tehran. Some of its top graduates are now teaching in prestigious universities across the globe, including Europe and the United States.

The European Union had sanctioned the prestigious university for accusations over the university’s role in helping promote Iran’s nuclear activities which West claimed aimed at reaching weapons of mass destruction.

Back in July, the General Court of the European Union annulled sanctions imposed on Iran’s Sharif University of Technology after the EU failed to provide sufficient evidence regarding the university’s alleged involvement with the country's nuclear energy program.

The Luxembourg-based General Court ruled that the European Council committed a manifest error of assessment and failed to discharge the burden of proof which rests on it, so a number of documents justifying Sharif University of Technology’s listing were sent to it only after the expiry of the period allowed for bringing proceedings.

Further, the General Court found that the documents sent by the Council contained no information or material which added anything to the content of the contested acts.

The court also suspended the effects of the annulment for a period of two months in order to allow the Council the opportunity to correct the irregularities identified.