Iran filed a lawsuit against the United States earlier in July in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging that the Washington’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal and re-imposing the unilateral sanctions in May violated a 1955 treaty between the two countries.
Iranian lawyers asked the International Court of Justice on Monday to order the United States to lift sanctions imposed by the Trump administration against Tehran, Reuters reported earlier today.
Reuters also said that the presiding judge of the UN body informally known as the World Court began the hearing by calling on Washington to respect its outcome.
“The US is publicly propagating a policy intended to damage as severely as possible Iran’s economy and Iranian national companies, and therefore inevitably Iranian nationals,” said Mohsen Mohebi, representing Iran, at the start of four days of oral hearings. “This policy is plainly in violation of the 1955 Treaty of Amity.”
He said Iran had sought a diplomatic solution to the countries’ dispute but was rejected.
The United States said in an initial written reaction displayed in court that it believes the ICJ has no jurisdiction in the case, and that Iran’s assertions fall outside the bounds of the treaty.
US lawyers led by State Department adviser Jennifer Newstead, appointed by Trump in 2017, are due to respond on Tuesday. A ruling is expected within a month, though no date has been set.
KI/PR