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The Ghosts that Haunt an Iran Accord

(New York Times) Kai Bird - Iran needs at least a hundred billion dollars of foreign investment to modernize its oil fields, and American oil companies are eager to bid for these contracts once sanctions are lifted. But here's the rub: Largely forgotten are two judgments handed down in U.S. Federal District Courts. Dammarell vs. the Islamic Republic of Iran (2003) and Peterson vs. the Islamic Republic of Iran (2007) held Iran responsible for truck bomb attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in April 1983 and a similar attack on the U.S. Marines barracks in October of that year. 17 Americans were killed in the embassy attack - including eight CIA officers - and 32 Lebanese employees died. 241 U.S. servicemen were killed in the Marine barracks bombing. Both civil suits resulted in multibillion dollar judgments against Iran. The Iranian government, which did not defend itself at trial, has yet to pay a penny to any of the families of the victims or the survivors. These outstanding judgments represent a major stumbling block to any diplomatic resolution of Washington's troubled relations with Tehran.
2015-04-29 00:00:00
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