(AFP) Sara Magniette - The U.S. accused Tehran Monday of having "unclean hands" as it fought an Iranian court bid to unfreeze $2 billion earmarked by Washington for terror victims. The U.S. said Iran's "support for international terrorism," including bombings and airline hijackings, should disqualify it from being heard at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Iran took Washington to the ICJ in 2016 over a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the $2 billion should go to victims of attacks blamed on the Islamic Republic. The terror attacks whose American victims were to be compensated included the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, in which 241 soldiers were killed, and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: "We owe it to our fallen heroes, their families, and the victims of Iran's terrorist activities to vigorously defend against the Iranian regime's meritless claims this week in The Hague....We will continue to fight against the scourge of Iran's terrorist activities in all venues and will continue to increase the pressure on this outlaw state."
2018-10-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive