The ruling by the International Court of Justice comes as the United States has sought to pressure Iran over what it says are “malign activities” in the Middle East. The Trump administration in May withdrew from a nuclear deal the United States signed with Iran and other world powers, announcing renewed U.S. sanctions including dollar transactions, food exports and oil sales. The ICJ ruling is binding, but the court, located in The Hague, lacks the power to enforce its decisions. Iran argued that the sanctions violated the 1955 Treaty of Amity between the United States and Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the directive “another failure” for the United States and a “victory for the rule of law.” It’s “imperative for int’l community to collectively counter malign US unilateralism,” Zarif said on Twitter. The court’s ruling said that the United States “must remove” any impediments to the free exportation to Iran of goods required for humanitarian needs, as well as spare parts for civil aviation safety. It said that the assurances given by the United States that its sanctions would have limited humanitarian impact were “not adequate to address fully the humanitarian and safety concerns raised by” Iran. The measures adopted by the United States, the court said, “may entail irreparable consequences.” The order, read aloud by presiding Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf, applies to medicines and medical devices; foodstuffs and agricultural commodities; and spare parts, equipment and repair services for civil aviation. The United States must also ensure that licenses and authorizations are granted and that payment for such goods and services are not subject to any restrictions. Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, co-founder of the pro-business Europe-Iran Forum, had previously warned that “while no direct legal barriers exist for trade in humanitarian goods, potential restrictions slapped on [Iranian] banks that facilitate the necessary transactions might yet cause problems.” Iran’s private sector banks would be responsible for carrying out such transactions, he said, but broad caveats from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which publishes sanction guidelines, could trigger U.S. law. “Ambiguities about the scope of the returning restrictions . . . have left bank leaders and government officials in Iran with more questions than answers,” Batmanghelidj wrote on his website, Bourse & Bazaar.]]>
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