Iran Hails ICJ Ruling on US Sanctions

In a statement on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry welcomed the ICJ’s ruling in favor of Iran and its verdict against the US government’s illegal move to re-impose unilateral sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The statement hailed the court’s unanimous decision as “another clear proof of rightfulness of the Islamic Republic of Iran and of the illegitimate and cruel nature of American sanctions against the Iranian people.”

The ICJ has also upheld the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 which endorses the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Foreign Ministry added.

The ministry said Iran acknowledges the ICJ’s authority to render a verdict on the case, stressing that the verdict has foiled the US attempts to challenge the court’s jurisdiction over the issue.

The court ruling once against demonstrated that “it is the US government that is becoming increasingly isolated with its wrong and radical policies and because of its excessive demands from other countries,” the statement added, calling on the US to break the bad habit of imposing “cruel and unlawful sanctions” against citizens of other states.

In a provisional verdict on Wednesday, the ICJ ruled that the US government should lift all bans on the free export of humanitarian goods like food and medicine to Iran which have been re-imposed after Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Judges at the ICJ, the highest United Nations court, ruled in favor of Iran in a lawsuit against the US for breaching the 1955 Treaty of Amity by re-imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic after pulling out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The ICJ, which is based in The Hague and is also known as the World Court, is the United Nations tribunal for resolving international disputes. Iran's filing asks the ICJ to order the United States to provisionally lift its sanctions ahead of more detailed arguments.