Luxembourg court rejects US request to seize Iran assets over 9/11 attacks

A Luxembourg court has rejected a US request to compensate victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks by seizing Iranian assets, seven years after a New York court claimed there was evidence of Iran’s involvement in the incident.

News ID: 444039

Date: 28 March 2019 - 13:01

RNA - The Luxembourg court said Wednesday that there were no grounds in international law to uphold a US ruling in 2012 to claim Iranian assets held with Luxembourg-based clearing house Clearstream, Reuters reported.

“The rule on which the US court had relied to remove jurisdictional immunity is not in accordance with public international law and cannot be applied in the context of the Luxembourg case,” the court said in a statement.

Back in 2012, a New York court claimed there was evidence to show that Iran provided “material support and resources” to al-Qaeda operatives that carried out the attacks.

The New York court awarded the plaintiffs damages of over $7 billion.

Iran has denied any links to al-Qaeda or any involvement in the 9/11 attacks.

The Luxembourg court has yet to rule whether the $1.6 billion in frozen Iranian assets in the European country can be returned to Iran.

Iran has said it is "completely unfair" for US lawyers to try to seize its overseas assets as compensation for the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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