Iran Demands Reimbursement for U.N. Sanctions

Iran has threatened to take legal action on grounds that the U.N. Security Council violated its charter by enacting sanctions against the nation over its nuclear program, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 25).

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki prepared a 20-page letter that contains a paragraph-by-paragraph rebuttal to the latest Security Council sanctions resolution, accusing France, Germany, the United Kingdom and United States of clearing with the international body for political gain.

The Western powers campaigned for the sanctions as a measure to pressure Iran to halt controversial nuclear activities they suspect could be intended for nuclear weapons development (see GSN, March 4).

Mottaki said in the letter that Iranian officials have addressed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s concerns about its nuclear program and the U.N. nuclear watchdog “has repeatedly stated that there is no evidence to prove any diversion of the Iranian nuclear program towards military purposes.”

Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei last month reported advancement in a probe seeking to clarify Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but warned that Tehran had not sufficiently answered questions about Western intelligence purporting to show Iranian efforts to develop technologies for weaponizing its nuclear capabilities (see GSN, Feb. 22).

Mottaki accused the four Western powers of “providing false and erroneous information” to the agency.

“These countries should, as a minimum step, admit their mistakes, apologize to the great nation of Iran, correct their behavior, and above all, compensate all the damages they have inflicted on the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Mottaki wrote. 

“The Islamic Republic of Iran and its citizens have the right to resort to legal actions to seek redress against the sponsors of these unlawful actions,” he said without elaborating on the reimbursement sought or the type of legal appeal being considered.

The United States wrote off Iran’s contention that the Security Council overstepped its legal boundaries by enacting the sanctions.  “The U.N. charter is perfectly clear on these issues,” said Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Google News, March 27).

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