Press Statement
Secretary of State
Today, oral proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) began in The Hague in a case brought by Iran against the United States, Certain Iranian Assets. As I have stated previously, Iran’s filings before the ICJ are a misuse of the Court for political and propaganda purposes. Iran brought this case in 2016 to challenge measures the United States adopted to deter Iran’s support for terrorist attacks against the United States and others, as well as to respond to other internationally destabilizing actions taken by Iran. These measures include allowing victims of terrorism to recover damages from Iran and Iranian entities in U.S. courts. The actions at the root of this case, among many others, involve the Iran-sponsored bombing of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983, which killed 241 U.S. peacekeepers.
We owe it to our fallen heroes, their families, and the victims of Iran’s terrorist activities to vigorously defend against the Iranian regime’s meritless claims this week in The Hague, where we will show that Iran’s case should be dismissed.
We will continue to fight against the scourge of Iran’s terrorist activities in all venues and will continue to increase the pressure on this outlaw state. These malign activities by Iran are among the reasons we decided last week to terminate the 1955 U.S.-Iran Treaty of Amity. We hope that Iran’s leaders will come to recognize that the only way to ensure a positive future for their country is by ceasing their campaign of terror and destruction around the world.
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