FNA - The US court has come up with a verdict, which says that Iran should pay vast compensation to relatives of the victims of 9/11 and that the country�s frozen assets in the US could be used to fulfill that court order.

Amir Hossein Nourbaksh, Iranian lawyer and head of the campaign �World Without Violence and Extremism�,�believes that the latest decision of�the New York court is not only unlawful, but�also contradicts its jurisdiction, according to Sputnik.


He explains that although terror attack happened on�US soil, it falls into�the category of�international crimes and must be taken to�the International Criminal Court (ICC).


Moreover, the lawyer is confident that the court has violated Iran's right to�defense.


"They [US] were obliged to�offer Iran an opportunity to�present its interests as�a defendant in�court, which, in�fact, never happened. Iran was not even notified about�the upcoming litigation. This is one of�the gravest violations of�court practice," he said.


Nourbaksh further points out�that the New York court had violated one of�the basic principles of�law�� the presumption of�innocence.


The judge ignored the fact that none of�the terrorists who committed the 9/11 attacks were of�Iranian origin. The fact that Al-Qaeda (which was behind�the attacks) has threatened Iran on�multiple occasions and taken a hostile stance towards�it also slipped the eyes of�the US court, Nourbaksh added.


"The decision made by�a federal judge about�Iran being guilty was mostly for�show, not for�punishing those responsible. The decision was politically motivated and aimed at�appropriating Iranian assets that have been illegally frozen in�the US for�several years," he stated.


The lawyer believes that if the US decides to "appropriate" Iranian assets, such a move can be viewed as�theft of�national assets. Thus it can and will be challenged by�Iran in�the ICC.


Nourbaksh is confident that Tehran stands a good chance of�winning the case.


The lawyer also recalled that several years ago, the Iran-US Claims Tribunal was established, which is entitled to�examine cases and disputes between�the two countries.


He added that since�Iran hasn't participated in�either of�the trials (in 2016 and in�2018) against�it, Tehran can review the court's decision and defend its interests there.


"Iran can easily challenge the jurisdiction of�the [US] federal court that made the decision. According to�international law, it [Iran] can use the International Covenant on�Civil and Political Rights and the principle of�good faith, which was originally violated, and submit an appeal against�the US court decision," the lawyer said.


Back in�2016, New York Judge George Daniels ruled that Iran must pay $10,5 billion to�the families of�those who died in�the 9/11 attacks and to�the insurance companies. Against the backdrop of�the upcoming May 12 deadline, when the US President is due to�decide whether he will re-impose sanctions against�Iran and quit the nuclear deal, the US court has reaffirmed its decision blaming Iran for�funding Al-Qaeda. Iran was not presented at�both courts.


Although the investigation of�the attacks on�the World Trade Center's twin towers revealed that the two airplanes were hijacked by�a group consisting of�Saudis, Egyptians, Lebanese and citizens of�the UAE. The commission investigating the terror attack failed to�find any evidence proving that Iran�had helped the terror group.