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Thursday 4 OcTOber 2018
U.S. terminates 1955 treaty with Iran after U.N. court ruling
By MATTHEW LEE “The Iranians have been ig-
AP Diplomatic Writer noring it for an awfully long
WASHINGTON (AP) — In re- time, we ought to have
sponse to a U.N. court order pulled out of it decades
that the U.S. lift sanctions on ago,” he told reporters at
Iran, the Trump administra- the State Department.
tion said Wednesday it was The little-known treaty with
terminating a decades-old Iran was among numer-
treaty affirming friendly re- ous such ones signed in
lations between the two the wake of World War II
countries. The largely sym- as the Truman and Eisen-
bolic gesture highlights hower administrations tried
deteriorating relations be- to assemble a coalition of
tween Washington and nations to counter the So-
Tehran. viet Union. Like many of
Secretary of State Mike the treaties, this one was
Pompeo said withdraw- aimed at encouraging
ing from the 1955 Treaty of closer economic relations
Amity was long overdue and regulating diplomatic
and followed Iran “ground- and consular ties.
lessly” bringing a complaint Its first article reads: “There
with the International Court shall be firm and enduring
of Justice challenging U.S. peace and sincere friend-
sanctions on the basis that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefs reporters at the State Department in Washington, ship between the United
they were a violation of the Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. States of America and
pact. Associated Press Iran.”
Meanwhile, national secu- But amid a broader push
rity adviser John Bolton said to assert U.S. sovereignty
the administration also was in the international arena
pulling out of an amend- and after pulling out of the
ment to the Vienna Con- Iran nuclear deal this year,
vention on Diplomatic Re- the administration deter-
lations that Iran or others, mined that the court case
notably the Palestinians, made the treaty irrelevant.
could use to sue the U.S. at Pompeo said the ruling
The Hague-based tribunal. was a “useful point for us to
Bolton told reporters at the demonstrate the absolute
White House that the provi- absurdity” of the treaty.
sion violates U.S. sovereign- The court case is legally
ty. binding, but Pompeo said
“The United States will not the administration would
sit idly by as baseless po- proceed with sanctions
liticized claims are brought enforcement with existing
against us,” Bolton said. He exceptions for humanitar-
cited a case brought to ian and flight safety trans-
the court by the “so-called actions.
state of Palestine” chal- “The United States has
lenging the move of the been actively engaged on
U.S. Embassy in Israel from these issues without regard
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as the to any proceeding before
main reason for withdraw- the ICJ,” he said.
ing. At the same time, he criti-
Bolton, who last month un- cized the ruling.
leashed a torrent of criti- “We’re disappointed that
cism against the Interna- the court failed to recog-
tional Criminal Court, noted nize that it has no jurisdic-
that previous Republican tion to issue any order re-
administrations had pulled lating to these sanctions
out of various international measures with the United
agreements and bodies States.”
over “politicized cases.” The ruling said Washington
He said the administration must “remove, by means
would review all accords of its choosing, any impedi-
that might subject the U.S. ments arising from” the re-
to prosecution by interna- imposition of sanctions to
tional courts or panels. the export to Iran of medi-
Earlier, Pompeo de- cine and medical devices,
nounced the Iranian case food and agricultural com-
before the U.N. court as modities and spare parts
“meritless” and said the and equipment necessary
Treaty of Amity was mean- to ensure the safety of civil
ingless and absurd. aviation.q
