Special to WorldTribune.com
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to clear the way for families of American victims of Iran-sponsored terrorism to collect some $2 billion.
The funds would be part of a $2.65 billion judgment against Iran the families won in U.S. federal court in 2007. The funds are currently being held in New York in a trust account at Citibank.
The Supreme Court, expected to issue a ruling on the case later this year, heard an appeal brought by Bank Markazi, Iran’s central bank, which contested a 2014 lower-court ruling that stated the money should be handed over to the victims’ families.
The families who won the judgment represent hundreds of Americans killed or injured in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, the 1996 Khobar Towers truck bombing in Saudi Arabia, suicide bombings in Israel and other attacks.
The Obama administration and Congress were united in favor of the victims receiving the frozen Iranian funds.