Iran summons Swiss envoy on US court ruling

Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned Swiss Ambassador to Tehran Giulio Haas, who represents the US interests in Iran, to protest the a ruling by US Supreme Court over Iran’s frozen assets, AVA Diplomatic reports.

General Director for the Americas at the Iranian Foreign Ministry Mohammad Keshavarz Zadeh strongly protested against the recent ruling by US Supreme Court on the transfer of about $2b of frozen Iranian assets to the families of victims of the 1983 bombing in Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran.

Keshavarz Zadeh also presented the Swiss envoy with two official notes which conveyed Tehran’s official protest over the ruling by the US Supreme Court.

The Iranian official said the US court ruling is a blatant violation of mutual contract obligations such as the 1955 treaty between the two countries, as well as US international legal commitments on the judicial immunity and inviolability of the assets and properties of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Keshavarz Zadeh also expressed Islamic Republic of Iran’s strong objection over another ruling by a local court in New York which accused Tehran of having been involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks without providing any evidence.

He called the allegations as baseless and contrary to accepted practices of international law that guarantees government’s judicial immunity. The Swiss envoy promised to immediately notify the US Department of State and report back the results to Iran’s Foreign Ministry.