In a statement on Sunday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi forwarded Iran’s strong protests against the issuing of such politically-motivated judgments based on unfounded accusations already raised in the past.
A judge in the US has issued a default judgement requiring Iran to pay more than $6 billion to victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The order comes in absence of any evidence of Iran’s involvement, as well as any chance given to the country to contest the case in court. Meanwhile, with 15 of the 19 hijackers of Saudi nationality, Saudi Arabia remains the main target of US citizens looking for damages in relation to the attacks.
“The court order is unacceptable and rejected,” Ghasemi said. “Not only is it a mockery of the international law system but it is also a mockery at the expense of American people, particularly the victims and the bereaved families of the September 11 attacks.”
Ghasemi went on to add, “the devisers of such political games have been making futile attempts to distort the process of prosecution and its outcome in a fictitious way and by reversing the facts.”
“They are trying to rewrite history by actions that are even against the process inside the United States and the main culprits of this terrorist attack, but they will definitely fail to achieve their objectives,” he said.
The Iranian diplomat deemed such court orders an explicit violation of the rules and procedures accepted by international law, which are based on the necessity of observing the immunity of sovereign governments.
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves all rights to oppose this illegal procedure,” he stressed.
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