The 55th Branch of the Tehran Court of Justice Wednesday issued a $312.9 million judgment against the US over a 2017 terrorist attack in Tehran, according to state-affiliated outlet Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). The report stated that the Iran Judiciary’s ruling aims to prevent further US violations of international law.
According to a report from the High Council for Human Rights, the court ruled that the US is responsible for its role “in organizing and directing terrorist groups, reliable news and information published in US media, as well as US official’s speeches and books about the role of the CIA in creating terrorist groups, including Daesh.” The lawsuit began when families of victims of the attacks sued the US for damages. $199 million of the damages awarded are for punitive damages against the US.
The listed defendants in the case include the US government, former US Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, former US General Tommy Franks, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the US Central Command (CENTCOM), the US Treasury Department, Lockheed Martin Corp. and American Airlines Group Inc.The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the 2017 attacks. The attacks were on Iran’s Parliament and the mausoleum of the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini.
Tensions remain high between the US and Iran. Last month, the International Court of Justice ruled that the US violated a 1955 treaty with Iran by freezing Iranian assets to fulfill terrorism-related awards from the US.