United Nations ordered U.S to lift some Iran sanctions

U.S Sanctions on Iran
Listen to this article

The highest court of the United Nations has ordered the United States to lift sanctions on Iran. These sanctions affect imports of humanitarian goods, products, and services connected to the safety of civil aviation. The U.S President Donald Trump moved to restore tough U.S. sanctions in May after announcing he was withdrawing from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran challenged the sanctions in a case filed in July at the International Court of Justice. In a preliminary ruling in the case, the court said Wednesday that Washington should remove any impediments arising from the re-imposition of sanctions to the export to Iran of medicine and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities and spare parts and equipment necessary to ensure the safety of civil aviation.

U.S Sanctions on Iran

The U.S. is expected to challenge the court’s jurisdiction in a future hearing. The economic impact of sanctions has already triggered protests in Iran, some of which have been broken up by security forces using tear gas. Iran alleges that the sanctions breach a 1955 bilateral agreement known as the Treaty of Amity that regulates and promotes economic and consular ties between the two countries.

The treaty was signed when the U.S. and Iran were still allies following the 1953 revolution — fomented by Britain and the U.S. — that ultimately cemented the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Diplomatic relations were severed following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and takeover of the U.S. Embassy and the ensuing hostage crisis. However, the treaty remains in force.