Iran Hails Luxembourg Court Decision on US Seizure of Assets
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday welcomed a Luxembourg court's decision to dismiss a US court appeal to seize Iranian assets over 9/11 attacks.
Seven years ago, a New York court claimed there was evidence to show that Iran provided “material support and resources” to al-Qaeda militants that carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks, calling on Iran to compensate victims.
That court awarded the plaintiffs damages of over $7 billion.
However, the Luxembourg court on Wednesday rejected the US request, stressing, “The rule on which the US court had relied to remove jurisdictional immunity is not in accordance with public international law and cannot be applied in the context of the Luxembourg case”.
The court also said the plaintiffs could not continue their legal case to seize Iranian assets in the country.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi on Wednesday hailed the court decision as an “independent” approach, saying that Washington should come to realize that it cannot steal Iranian properties and wealth by raising such groundless accusations and lies.
“Mr. Trump should learn that Iran and its great and smart people are totally different from other countries that openly offer the US their country and nation’s wealth in order to enjoy the privilege of rented security and support,” the spokesman stressed.
“The era of Washington’s unilateralism and bullying behavior toward other countries is over,” he said.
Iran has denied any links to al-Qaeda or any involvement in the 9/11 attacks.
