Page 6 - aruba-today-20220920

A6 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 20 sepTember 2022
Iran faces U.S. in international court over asset seizure

By MOLLY QUELL an “industry of litigation”
Associated Press against Iran and Iranian
THE HAGUE, Netherlands companies in an effort to
(AP) — Iran told the United undermine the regime. The
Nations’ highest court on seizure was just one ma-
Monday that Washing- neuver “aiming to desta-
ton’s confiscation of some bilize Iran and the Iranian
$2 billion in assets from Ira- government,” Habibzadeh
nian state bank accounts said. The two countries
to compensate bombing have had no diplomatic
victims was an attempt to relations since the 1979 U.S.
destabilize the Iranian gov- Embassy takeover by mili-
ernment and a violation of tant students in Tehran.
international law. The pair have a second
In 2016, Tehran filed a suit case pending before the
at the International Court ICJ over the same obscure
of Justice after the U.S. Su- treaty. Tehran filed an un-
preme Court ruled money related complaint with the
held in Iran’s central bank court in 2018 after former
could be used to com- president Donald Trump re-
pensate the 241 victims of imposed sanctions against
a 1983 bombing of a U.S. Rescue workers sift through the rubble of the U.S. Marine base in Beirut in Oct. 23, 1983 following a Iran over its nuclear pro-
military base in Lebanon massive bomb blast that destroyed the base and killed 241 American servicemen. gram. In response, the U.S.
believed linked to Iran. Associated Press withdrew from the treaty
Hearings in the case Marine barracks in Beirut, in 2019, rejecting an argu- bank to hand over the as- entirely.
opened Monday in the killing 241 American troops ment from the U.S. that its sets to the families of those The hearings come as Ira-
Hague-based court, start- and 58 French soldiers. national security interests killed in the Beirut bombing. nian President Ebrahim
ing with Iran’s arguments. While Iran long has denied superseded the 1955 Treaty A U.S. court concluded the Raisi headed on Monday
The proceedings will con- being involved, a U.S. Dis- of Amity, which promised attack, which struck bar- to New York, where he will
tinue with opening state- trict Court judge found friendship and cooperation racks for service members be speaking to the U.N.
ments by Washington on Tehran responsible in 2003. between the two countries. conducting peacekeeping General Assembly later this
Wednesday. At stake are That ruling said Iran’s am- “The freedom of naviga- operations during Leba- week.
$1.75 billion in bonds, plus bassador to Syria at the tion and commerce guar- non’s civil war, was carried Tehran and Washington
accumulated interest, be- time called “a member of anteed by the treaty have out by Iranian agents sup- have traded written re-
longing to the Iranian state the Iranian Revolutionary been gravely breached,” ported by the Hezbollah sponses in recent months
but held in a Citibank ac- Guard and instructed him Tavakol Habibzadeh, head militant group. on a roadmap that would
count in New York. In 1983, to instigate the Marine bar- of international legal affairs Iran claims it was not in- see sanctions lifted against
a suicide bomber in a truck racks bombing.” The inter- for Iran, told the 14-judge volved in the attack. Iran in exchange for re-
loaded with military-grade national court ruled it had panel Monday. Habibzadeh said Monday stricting its rapidly advanc-
explosives attacked U.S. jurisdiction to hear the case A 2012 U.S. law ordered the that the U.S has created ing nuclear program.q

Beirut protesters demand release of bank heist detainees

By BASSEM MROUE heist. anon out of the worst eco- problems should be taken trapped savings account.
Associated Press The clash came as a del- nomic crisis in its modern over by bigger lenders. Hafez, who has been in
BEIRUT (AP) — Protesters egation from the Interna- history. The crisis is rooted in Anger with local lenders hiding, has said she repeat-
scuffled with Lebanese se- tional Monetary Fund held decades of corruption and who have been imposing edly visited the bank to ask
curity forces Monday out- meetings in Beirut with of- mismanagement. informal capital controls in- for her money and was
side the Justice Ministry in ficials over the country’s The Lebanese government cluding limits on ATM with- told she could only receive
Beirut, demanding the re- economic meltdown and has implemented few of drawals for nearly three $200 a month in Lebanese
lease of two people arrest- the limited steps taken by the IMF’s demands from years has increased in pounds. On Friday deposi-
ed last week during a bank the government to pull Leb- a staff level agreement recent weeks, with some tors, including one armed
reached with the IMF in depositors storming bank with a hunting rifle, broke
April. It l ists five “key pillars” branches and taking their into at least five banks to
that should be implement- trapped savings by force. demand their trapped sav-
ed, including restructuring Monday’s protest outside ings, the largest number
the financial sector, imple- the Justice Ministry de- of such incidents in one
menting fiscal reforms, the manded the release of day. The banks, citing se-
proposed restructuring of Abdul-Rahman Zakariya curity concerns, closed all
external public debt, anti- and Mohammed Rustom, branches for three days
corruption and anti-money who have been held since starting Monday.
laundering efforts. Wednesday after they At one point on Monday,
The agreement also de- broke into a bank branch dozens of protesters tried
manded that the country’s and helped a depositor to storm the Justice Min-
14 largest banks be held take her trapped savings to istry before stopping af-
Protesters try to remove a gate to the Justice Palace during a up as a standard for work pay for her sister’s cancer ter they removed a metal
demonstration demanding the release of two people arrested on restructuring the sector treatment. gate. There are concerns
last week during a bank robbery, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, since they control about They joined Sali Hafez, that if the two men are not
Sept. 19, 2022. 80% of the market. The who used a toy pistol to released, protests could
Associated Press smaller banks that have demand $13,000 from her intensify.q