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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Iranian foreign ministry has summoned Switzerland's ambassador to Tehran over a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court against Iran, state TV reported Tuesday.
The report said the Swiss ambassador was summoned over a U.S. Supreme Court decision to permit the families of victims of a 1983 bombing in Lebanon and other attacks linked to Iran to collect nearly $2 billion of frozen funds from the Islamic Republic.
Iran and the U.S. have not had diplomatic relations since 1979, when Iranian students stormed the embassy and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. The Swiss diplomat was summoned to convey Iran's protest to the Americans.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a foreign adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, described the court ruling as an act of robbery, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"Iran is insistent on safeguarding its rights and will retrieve the money," Velayati was quoted as saying. "The way to confront Americans is to resist their ambitions."
The cabinet has tasked a workgroup, led by the Iranian finance minister, to examine the court decision and reclaim Iran's "rights," IRNA reported. The ministers of foreign affairs, and the heads of the intelligence agency, judiciary and central bank have joined the workgroup.
Iran said the U.S. court decision violated international obligations between the two countries, such as a 1955 economic treaty.
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