World War 3 alert: US SCRAPS Iran treaty in sanctions row as tensions SOAR
WASHINGTON is scrapping a decades-old accord with Iran after the International Court Of Justice (ICJ) ruled recent US sanctions against the Islamic Republic violated its terms.
By SIMON OSBORNE
Express.co.uk
Wed, Oct 3, 2018
The judges upheld Tehran’s complaint that sanctions imposed Donald Trump in May were in breach of the 1955 Treaty of Amity on economic relations and consular rights between the two countries.
They also ordered the US to ensure the sanctions, due to be ramped up next month, do not affect humanitarian aid or civil aviation safety.
But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected the decision, saying the court has no jurisdiction and that Washington would terminate the treaty, suggesting it should have done so after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution which turned the two countries into arch-enemies.
He said: “This is a decision frankly that is 39 years overdue.”
Mr Pompeo said said he was “disappointed” the ICJ did not recognise the court had no jurisdiction but argued the ruling was actually a “defeat for Iran.”
He said: “The court denied Iran’s attempt to secure broad measures to interfere with US sanctions and rightly noted Iran’s history of non-compliance with its international obligations under the treaty of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.”
Mr Pompeo accused Iran of misusing the court for political purposes and said the US was actively ensuring humanitarian aid reached the country, without regard to the court ruling.
Today’s court order is temporary pending a resolution of Iran’s full lawsuit against Washington by the ICJ, something that could take years.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said: “The decision proved once again that the Islamic Republic is right and the US sanctions against people and citizens of our country are illegal and cruel.
“The United States must comply with its international commitments and lift obstacles to Iranian trade.”
The ICJ is the United Nations’ highest court for resolving disputes between nations.
The court’s rulings are binding but it has no power to enforce them and both the US and Iran have ignored them in the past.
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