April 22, 2016 - 10:19 AMT
Iran calls US Supreme Court ruling on Beirut blast a “theft”

Iran said Thursday, April 21, that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to deduct $2 billion from Tehran's frozen assets to compensate American victims of terror attacks amounted to theft, AFP reports.

"The ruling is considered stealing the Islamic Republic of Iran's properties and naturally the onus of compensation of damages to Iran... falls on the U.S. administration," foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said. The spokesman said the decision went "against international law."

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Iran must hand over nearly $2 billion in frozen assets to survivors and relatives of those killed in attacks blamed on the Islamic republic.

The attacks included the 1983 bombing of U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia.

The decision affects more than 1,000 Americans.