The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to issue its verdict on Thursday on whether Iran’s $2 billion in assets, frozen by the United States over alleged terror attacks, should be unfrozen. Iran brought the case to the UN’s top tribunal in 2016 after the US Supreme Court ruled that the assets should be used to compensate victims of attacks that were attributed to Iran. The ICJ verdict comes amidst growing tensions between Iran and the US over the former’s nuclear program, support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, and recent US airstrikes on Iran-backed groups in Syria.
Iran has argued that the US illegally froze the assets and that the funds are needed to alleviate the economic hardship caused by the nuclear sanctions. The US Supreme Court had ruled that the assets, which include $1.75 billion from Iran’s Central Bank and some from Iranian firms, should be used to compensate victims of terrorist attacks, including the 1983 bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. Iran, however, has denied responsibility for these attacks and contends that the freeze violates the 1955 Treaty of Amity signed by Tehran and Washington.
While the ICJ verdict is binding and cannot be appealed, the court lacks enforcement powers. Countries may bring complaints to the UN Security Council if a state fails to comply with a judgment. The US has previously attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed, with its lawyers alleging that Iran had “unclean hands” because of its alleged support of terrorist groups.