An English court has
cleared the way to consider whether it will allow the families of some of those
killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. to make a claim on Iranian
assets in Britain.
The relatives want the
English High Court to enforce a 2012 decision by a U.S. court which found there
was evidence to show that Iran provided “material support and resources to al
Qaeda for acts of terrorism”.
The militant group carried
out the attacks.
The New York court awarded
the plaintiffs damages of over seven billion dollars.
Iran denies any links to Al
Qaeda or any involvement in the 9/11 attacks.
If the English court agrees
to enforce the ruling, it could clear the way for assets in England and Wales
to be frozen or seized.
Iranian assets in England
include a central London building and funds held by two subsidiaries of
state-owned banks.
This could add to Tehran’s
troubles as it tries to stave off a financial crisis.
The June 8 ruling by a
judge after a hearing in the English High Court removed an obstacle that was
holding up the process.
The law requires the UK’s
Foreign Office (FCO) to formally serve the legal papers to Iran’s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs (MFA) before the enforcement proceedings can begin.
A British official said it
was routinely difficult to deliver papers to the MFA, according to FCO
correspondence seen by Reuters.
An FCO official declined to
comment.
The judge ruled it was
sufficient to try to notify them through other communication such as email or
post.
That decision has unblocked
the process.
The plaintiffs will now ask
a judge at the High Court in the next few months to consider whether the New
York ruling can be entered as a judgment in English law, said their lawyer
Natasha Harrison, a partner at the London office of Boies Schiller Flexner.
She said the judgment could
then be enforced.
This would mean assets
could be frozen or seized.
An Iranian official said:
“Iran will take all the necessary measures to stop it.”
An Iranian foreign ministry
official said the June ruling was “fabricated” and “politically motivated”.
“Such allegations against
Iran are aimed at diverting attentions from regional countries that were
involved
in the 9/11 attacks,” that
official said.
“We are a victim of
terrorism and have always fought against terrorism.”
The plaintiffs began trying
to enforce the New York judgment in England in 2015.
They have already got court
support in Luxembourg where 1.6 billion dollars of Iranian assets are frozen.
Iran has also contested
those claims.
Lee Wolosky, another
partner with law firm Boies Schiller Flexner , said that the plaintiffs intend
to pursue Iranian assets “wherever in the world they may be found in order to
enforce these judgments”.
“And we expect foreign
courts to permit enforcement of valid, final U.S. judgments if they wish
reciprocal treatment in U.S. courts,” he said.
The plaintiffs’ legal team
declined to comment on what Iranian assets in Britain they would target.
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