US disappointed with ICJ ruling on Iran case

Patel made the statement in a Thursday press briefing in Washington, adding that while the US was disappointed with some aspects of the ruling it was pleased on the whole.

Pointing to the source of dispute between the US and Iran over €1.83 billion of Iranian assets frozen by the American authorities under the pretext of paying compensation to victims of a 1983 bombing in Lebanon and other attacks, Patel claimed, “Broadly we believe that today’s decision is a major blow to Iran’s case.”

The world court found that some other bids to seize Iranian assets breached the 1955 Treaty of Amity between the countries and said they should negotiate compensation because the protections it offers do not extend to central banks.

For instance, the largest part of the case focused on the Markazi bank, and its frozen bonds worth €1.6 billion, plus accumulated interest, that are held in a Citibank account in New York.

Iran's Foreign Ministry in a statement reacted to a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict on Thursday, and said that the verdict proved Iran's legitimacy and the mistaken US behavior.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the decision issued by the International Court of Justice shows the solidity of the arguments and rightness of Iran's demand," the foreign ministry statement said.

"In this important decision, the ICJ has rightly rejected all wrong defenses the US presented and stressed that it violated its obligations while it has recognized Iran as the rightful side. Obliging the United States to compensate for the losses [Iran has suffered] is the most important testimony to the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran's demand," it added.