Iran asked the International Court of Justice on Monday to lift the sanctions that were reimposed by the United States on Aug. 7, calling the move “naked economic aggression.”
U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal—known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA—in May, after denouncing it as one of the worst international deals ever made.
Iran filed the case in July with the U.N. high court, claiming that sanctions the Trump administration snapped back violate the Treaty of Amity, a 1955 bilateral agreement that regulates diplomatic and economic ties between the United States and Iran.
Claiming his country has not violated the nuclear agreement, Iranian representative Mohsen Mohebi told the ICJ that the U.S. decision was a clear infraction of the 1955 accord, as it was “intended to damage, as severely as possible, Iran’s economy.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a warning to Iran over its actions beyond at the ICJ.
“Iran’s filing with the ICJ is an attempt to interfere with the sovereign rights of the United States to take lawful actions, including re-imposition of sanctions, which are necessary to protect our national security,” he said. “The proceedings instituted by Iran are a misuse of the court.”
Pompeo continued, “President Trump withdrew from the JCPOA for a simple reason: It failed to guarantee the safety of the American people from the risk created by Iran’s leaders.”
“We will vigorously defend against Iran’s meritless claims this week in The Hague, and we will continue to work with our allies to counter the Iranian regime’s destabilizing activities in the region, block their financing of terror, and address Iran’s proliferation of ballistic missiles and other advanced weapons systems that threaten international peace and stability,” stated Pompeo. “We will also ensure Iran has no path to a nuclear weapon—not now, not ever. The United States stands with the Iranian people, who are longing for a country of economic opportunity, government transparency and freedom from oppression.”
Geopolitical strategist John Sitilides in Washington, D.C., told JNS that the effort by Iran should be dismissed as a ploy, and that there is another way Iran can get sanctions against them lifted.
“This is a desperate attempt by the world’s leading state sponsor of international terrorism, regularly threatening the annihilation of a sovereign nation-state, to pull off a PR stunt before European and international audiences,” he said. “The Trump administration will likely proceed with all appropriate legal and technical U.N.-related measures in response, but there is zero seriousness to Tehran’s preposterous lawsuit, and everyone knows this.
“The Iranian regime would better use its time and resources respecting international law, promoting domestic freedoms and good neighborly relations, and allowing their citizens the right to choose their own political leaders,” added Sitilides.