MNA – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi says the complaint that Tehran has filed against the US is due to Washington’s breach of its international commitments, particularly the 1955 Treaty of Amity.







Ghasemi made the comment on Monday while elaborating on the news announced by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif regarding the lawsuit that Iran has lodged against the US.

“In order to make up for the United States’ re-imposition of illegal sanctions against our country, to reclaim the rights of the Iranian nation and to internationally sue the US for its violations, the Foreign Ministry, in coordination with the Presidential Office’s Centre for International Law Affairs and other relevant authorities, put on its agenda the filing of a complaint with the International Court of Justice against the US for breaching its international obligations, especially with regards to the Treaty of Amity, economic relations and consular rights in 1955,” he said.

“After receiving the viewpoints of Iranian and foreign international attorneys and legal advisors, the final lawsuit containing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s complaint over the [US’] violation of the Treaty of Amity was registered on July 16, 2018,” the spokesman noted.

“In this complaint, it is explained with evidence that the United States’ decision on May 8, 2018 to re-impose nuclear sanctions runs counter to the United States’ international obligations, especially articles 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, and the Treaty of Amity in 19655,” Ghasemi added.

“The United States is obliged to stop these international breaches and compensate for all the damage inflicted,” he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif posted a message on his Twitter account on Monday saying that Iran has lodged a complaint with the International Court of Justice against US unilateral measures in violating the multilateral treaty signed by Iran, EU, and 5+1 in 2015.

The 1955 US-Iran Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights was signed during the terms of US president Dwight Eisenhower and Iranian Prime Minister Hossein Ala.

According to Nationalinterest website, the treaty consists of an introduction and twenty-three articles. It emphasizes friendly relations while encouraging mutual trade and investments and regulating consular relations. The treaty was signed by Mostafa Samiy (the Iranian deputy of the ministry of foreign affairs) and Selden Chapin (the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the United States) at Tehran just a week before the second anniversary of the 1953 Coup. The treaty came into force in June 1957, one month after the day of exchange of the instruments of ratification at Tehran. Ever since, it’s provided the legal framework for bilateral relations between Iran and the United States.