A US judge ordered Iran on Wednesday to pay nearly $1.7 billion to the families of US soldiers killed in the 1983 Beirut bombing. The ruling may be appealed, but the order constitutes a legal setback for the Iranian government and could further damage US-Iran relations.
Background: Reuters reported that judge Loretta Preska in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York ordered Iran’s central bank and the Luxembourg-based Clearstream Banking SA to pay $1.68 billion to the families of the US Marines who died. Clearstream is currently holding the relevant assets in a fund.
