New York court ruling in the 1983 Beirut bombing case requires payment of $1.68 billion in compensation
A court in New York has ordered the Central Bank of Iran and a European bank to pay $1.68 billion in compensation to the families of American soldiers killed in the 1983 Beirut bombing.
According to Reuters, Loretta Preska, a judge of the federal district court, stated that a law passed in 2019 strips the Central Bank of Iran of immunity from legal prosecution for materially supporting those responsible for the attack.
The bombing on October 23, 1983, at the U.S. Marine barracks resulted in the death of 241 American soldiers. Iran has repeatedly denied involvement in that attack, but the U.S. government holds Hezbollah and its major supporter, the Islamic Republic government, responsible for the attack.
In 2001, families filed a lawsuit claiming that Hezbollah militants received material support from the Islamic Republic of Iran for carrying out the attack, and eventually, in 2007, they were awarded $265 billion in compensation.
However, Iran has refused to pay the compensation.