The United States has been ordered by an Iranian court to pay $4.3 billion in compensation for the killing of the country’s nuclear scientists.
Israel, a major ally of the US, is blamed by Iran for the assassination of a number of Iranian nuclear scientists in the past years.
In a statement cited by a semi-official Iranian news agency, the Human Rights Division of the Iranian Judiciary said, “The 55th Civil Court of Tehran ordered the US government, institutions and officials, who supported Israel, which committed the crime of assassinating nuclear experts in violation of international obligations, to pay $4.3 billion in pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.”
Thursday’s verdict was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by the families of some of the slain nuclear scientists, the statement indicated.
In the past, US courts ruled against Iranian government institutions to pay compensations on various occasions, the statement added.
Amid a deadlock in talks between Tehran and world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, from which Washington withdrew in 2018, tensions are running high between Iran and the US.
Iran began to scale back its commitments under the deal a year later by ramping up nuclear enrichment beyond the 3.65 percent stipulated in the deal.
