US court fines Iran $813m for 1983 Lebanon attack
"After this opinion, this court will have issued over $8.8 billion in judgments against Iran as a result of the 1983 Beirut bombing," Judge Royce Lamberth wrote in a ruling this week, a copy of which was seen Friday by AFP.
"Iran is racking up quite a bill from its sponsorship of terrorism," the Washington judge added, noting that "a number of other Beirut bombing cases remain pending, and their completion will surely increase this amount."
On October 23, 1983, 241 American soldiers, including 220 Marines, were killed in Beirut when a truck packed with explosives rammed through barricades and detonated in front of the US barracks near Beirut's international airport.
The attack was one of the deadliest ever against Americans.
The same day, in a coordinated attack, 58 French paratroopers were killed by a truck bomb at the French barracks in Beirut.
The twin bombings have been blamed on Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
Lamberth, whose ruling was delivered Tuesday, wrote that "no award, however many billions it contained, could accurately reflect the countless lives that have been changed by Iran's dastardly acts."
The nearly $813.77 million verdict is the eighth against Iran resulting from the 1983 bombing.
In 2007, under a law allowing foreign governments to be sued in US courts, the same judge ordered Iran to pay $2.65 billion to victims' families, an amount he wrote at the time "may be the largest ever entered by a court of the United States against a foreign nation."
"The court applauds plaintiffs' persistent efforts to hold Iran accountable for its cowardly support of terrorism," Lamberth wrote in this week's ruling.
"The court concludes that defendant Iran must be punished to the fullest extent legally possible for the bombing in Beirut on October 23, 1983. This horrific act impacted countless individuals and their families, a number of whom receive awards in this lawsuit," the federal court in Washington added.
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The us should sell the debt to third party collectors, the constant collections calls alone will bring Iran to its knees!!! lol
Iran will not never accept a verdict under U.S. jurisdiction and even if this ruling is binding, it's highly unlikely that the Iranian government has any asset in the U.S. that can be froozen and be used to reward the victims' families.
I think US' officials are trying their best and utmost to cover the losses of billions of $$$$$$$ in the useless war in the hilly country Afghanistan thru this way.........
I think U.S compensated for Iran's passenger plane debacle.
US has a knack to make a fool of itself. Now millions of people should sue US, ISRAEL for killings in Iraq, Pakistan,Afghanistan etc.
In reality there can be no greater terrorist than US itself, but the thing is US terrorism always comes with new improved packing that can be projected as the only right thing to do.
How about hundreds of people killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Some are part of so called friendly fires.
What judgments when your own hands are blood stained.
u kidding me????who is US to fine someone????a super power????who cares????well than someone should fine US for killing thousands of Iraqi citizens , Afghan citizens, Japanies and Pakistani soldiers......yeah US should b sued for all the killings and all that......and there is much more for which US should b sued for......give me a break.....this is non sense......huh
What about the Iranian passenger planes shot down by the US over the last decade.???