Iran court orders US to pay $50bn for Soleimani assassination

An Iranian court has ordered the US administration to pay approximately $50 billion in compensation for the assassination of its prominent military leader, Major-General Qassem Soleimani in 2020 in Iraq, as announced by the judiciary on Wednesday.

The ruling comes nearly four years after the assassination of the former head of the elite Quds Force, responsible for foreign operations in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and one of Tehran's key regional political engineers. 

Soleimani was killed by a US drone near Baghdad Airport on January 3, 2020, during the presidency of Donald Trump.

At the time, Trump claimed responsibility for the strike, stating that Soleimani was planning "imminent" attacks against American diplomats and military personnel. 

In response, Tehran carried out missile strikes on two bases in Iraq, housing US soldiers, and has since reiterated its demand for the withdrawal of US forces from the neighboring country.

The website "Mizan Online," affiliated with the judiciary, reported that "after a complaint filed by 3,318 citizens across the country... the International Court of Justice, 55th Branch in Tehran, ruled against the US administration and US government officials, ordering them to pay compensation and fines for material and moral damages related to the assassination, amounting to $49,770,000,000."

In this case, the court condemned 42 individuals and American entities, including Donald Trump and officials in his administration, according to the website.

The judgment comes at a time when Tehran accuses Washington of "complicity in crimes" committed by Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza. 

Meanwhile, the United States accuses Iran, a supporter of Hamas, of backing attacks by groups affiliated with it on US forces in Iraq and Syria.

AFP