THE HAGUE: The UN’s top court has said it can hear Iran’s bid to overturn US nuclear sanctions reimposed by Donald Trump, prompting “disappointment” in Washington, which had argued the issue lies outside its jurisdiction.

Iran’s foreign minister swiftly hailed Wednesday’s decision as a “victory” in the case launched three years ago at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

Tehran alleges that Trump, when he was US president, breached a 1955 friendship treaty between the two countries by pulling out of a 2015 nuclear deal — to the dismay of European allies — and reactivating the sanctions.

Washington had said the Hague-based ICJ did not have jurisdiction and must throw out the case. It also argued the sanctions were necessary because Iran posed a “grave threat” to international security.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2021