Iran Dispatches Experts to US to Pursue Assets Seizure: Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Tehran has sent a number of teams to the US to discuss the issue of seizure of the Central of Bank of Iran’s assets by Washington, an official said.
Hossein Yaqoubi Miab, director for the international affairs of the Central Bank of Iran, was quoted as saying by Russia’s Sputnik news that the groups of Iranian experts have been sent to the US to discuss the case of confiscation of assets.
"The funds were denominated in the US dollar, but they (funds) were issued by non-US institutions… We are now in the process of investigating this, we have already sent some teams from the government to negotiate with the United States. I am sure that will be settled shortly," he said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday.
His comment came after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Wednesday that the country has officially lodged a complaint with the International Court of Justice to reclaim nearly $2 billion in assets seized by the US government.
Tehran has also called on the international body to condemn the anti-Iran move by Washington and demanded compensation for the damages, the president noted.
On April 20, the US Supreme Court upheld the Congress and President Barack Obama’s actions to hold Iran financially responsible for the 1983 bombing that killed 241 Marines at their barracks in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
The ruling allows the families of the Marines and victims of other attacks that courts have linked to Iran to seize some $2 billion in assets held in New York’s Citibank, belonging to the CBI, which has been blocked under US sanctions.
In 2012, the US Congress passed a law that specifically directed the American bank to turn over the Iranian assets to victims’ families. Obama also entered the battle in an effort to force the payments on Iran.