NEW YORK, 4 February, 2021 (TON): On Wednesday, UN court judges ruled that they can hear a case file by Iran against the U.S.

Iran brought the case against the United States seeking to have sanctions against Tehran lifted.

A majority of a panel of 16 judges found that the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, has jurisdiction in the dispute

After the former U.S. administration re-imposed sanctions, following the President’s decision to abandon 2015 pact involving Iran to accept curbs to its nuclear program, was brought to the court by Iran in 2018.  

The new U.S. President Biden said to reverse the pact, although Tehran and Washington have yet to agree on the steps needed for that to happen.

The U.S. tried to argue that Iran could not claim based on the 1955 bilateral friendship pact. However, judges found the treaty, signed decades before Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution and the sharp deterioration in ties with Washington could be used as a basis for the court's jurisdiction.

"The court unanimously rejects the preliminary objections to its jurisdiction raised by the United States of America according to which the subject matter of the dispute does not relate to the interpretation or application of the Treaty of Amity," presiding Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf said.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the ruling was "another legal victory for Iran following 3 Oct '18 Order".

"Iran has always fully respected int'l law. High time for the US to live up to int'l obligations," Zarif tweeted, in a clear reference to Tehran's call on Biden administration to return to the nuclear pact and lift US sanctions.

The other U.S. objections to the case were also dismissed, which made Iran’s claims to be heard on merits. The final decision of the court would likely to take several years.