Iran to Open Lawsuit against US Sanctions at ICJ

Local Editor

Iran will argue Monday against renewed sanctions imposed by the United States, as a legal battle between Tehran and Washington opens before the UN's top court.

Tehran filed its case before the International Court of Justice in late July, calling on the Hague-based tribunal's judges to order the immediate lifting of sanctions, which it said would cause "irreparable prejudice."

The US had no right to reinstate such measures, Tehran added, as it demanded compensation for damages.

The ICJ - set up in 1946 to rule in disputes between countries - is expected to take a couple of months to decide whether to grant Tehran's request for a provisional ruling, while a final decision in the case may actually still take years.

Trump described the 2015 deal between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, as well as Germany, as a "horrible one-sided deal”.

Even though all of the other parties pleaded with him not to abandon the pact, Trump pulled out and announced he would reinstate sanctions.

Tehran -- which confirms that the move violates the little-known 1955 Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations -- says that the new sanctions are already hurting its economy.

Earlier this month, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei appeared to rule out any immediate prospect of talks, saying "there will be neither war, nor negotiations," with the US.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team