Iran to Take Legal Action against Canada for Recognition of US Court Rulings

“The former Canadian government cut ties (with Iran) in a unilateral move and embarked on measures, including removal of Iran’s political immunity in Canada, which paved the ground for the US families to file a lawsuit against Iran and it is one of the obstacles in our relations (with Canada),” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday.

“The ruling for confiscating Iran’s properties is unacceptable and is in violation of the principle of governments’ immunity and we will protest and pursue the case through judiciary bodies,” he added.

In relevant remarks early July, Qassemi had blasted a Canadian court’s recognition of the US courts’ rulings against Iran, and said the US move runs counter to the international judicial norms.

“Principally, the issuance of a ruling against a foreign country runs counter to the principle of equality of states and is in violation of their immunity under international law,” Qassemi said, adding, “The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to oppose and follow up on the ruling.”

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman underlined that irrespective of internal power divisions in Canada, the country’s administration would be “directly liable for any possible material and spiritual damage caused by various branches of the Canadian government as a result of such measures” which are in contradiction to the international law.

A Canadian court earlier this month accused Iran of supporting terrorism, upholding a previous ruling by a US court, which required the Islamic Republic to pay around $1.7 billion in damages to “American victims of terrorism”.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario rejected Iran’s request to reconsider the ruling, arguing that doing so would amount to a breach of Canada’s Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (JVTA).

The JVTA allows so-called victims of terrorism to sue foreign states for damages.