Iran urges UN to assist in unfreezing its assets in U.S.
By Fatma Babayeva
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for the assistance in solving the issue on the release of the frozen Iranian assets in US banks and urged to convince Washington to stop interfering in international commercial and financial transactions of Iran, Reuters reported.
Iran’s assets were frozen after the sanctions were imposed by the Western countries because of nuclear policy it pursued.
In the letter to Ban Ki-moon, Zarif urged him to use his influence to persuade the U.S. government to adhere to its international obligations.
"The U.S Executive branch illegally freezes Iranian national assets; the U.S Legislative branch legislates to pave the ground for their illicit seizures; and the U.S Judicial branch issues rulings to confiscate Iranian assets without any base in law or fact," Zarif said.
Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to the Iranian Central Bank to return $2 billion of frozen Iranian assets by stating that this amount should be given to the American families whose relatives were victims of explosions happened in Beirut in 1983 and other terrorist attacks.
More than 1,000 Americans demanded compensation for the terrorist attack which they thought Iran get involved in organizing.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's top adviser Ali Akbar Velayati was quoted by Iranian state media as saying that "Iran will never abandon its right and will take any necessary action to stop such an international theft."
Tehran announced that it will take every lawful measure against the court which authorizes the seizure of $2 billion of its frozen assets in the U.S.
The money confiscated through the verdict belongs to the Central Bank of Iran.
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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva
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