The International Court of Justice is due to rule on Thursday over Iran’s attempt to release nearly $2 billion in assets frozen by the United States over suspected terrorist attacks.

Tehran dragged its nemesis before the UN Supreme Court in 2016 after the US Supreme Court ruled that assets should be paid to survivors and relatives of attacks blamed on the Islamic Republic.

The Hague-based ICJ’s ruling comes amid tensions over recent US attacks on Iran-affiliated groups in Syria, as well as over Tehran’s nuclear program and its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Judges from the court, set up after World War II to decide disputes between UN member states, will begin reading their decision at 15:00 (13:00 GMT).

Judgments of the ICJ are binding and cannot be appealed, but have no enforcement powers. However, countries can complain to the UN Security Council if another state does not comply with a ruling.

Iran has claimed the assets were illegally frozen by the United States and says it needs them at a time of economic hardship due to nuclear sanctions on Tehran.

The US Supreme Court ruled seven years ago that the assets – $1.75 billion from the Central Bank of Iran and some from Iranian companies – should be used to compensate victims of terrorist attacks.

These included the 1983 bombing of a US naval base in Beirut that killed 299 people, including 241 US soldiers, and the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 people.

– ‘Unclean Hands’ –

But Iran denies being responsible for the attacks.

The US freeze is said to violate a “Treaty of Amity” signed by Tehran and Washington in 1955 – well before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the pro-US Shah and severed ties with the United States.

Washington has previously unsuccessfully tried to dismiss the lawsuit, with its lawyers claiming Iran has “unclean hands” – a reference to Tehran’s alleged support of terrorist groups.

The US also officially withdrew from the friendship treaty in 2018 after the International Court of Justice in a separate case ordered Washington to lift nuclear-related sanctions on humanitarian supplies destined for Iran.

The story goes on

The ICJ ruling in the frozen assets case comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Tehran recently condemned US airstrikes on Iran-linked forces in Syria that reportedly killed 19 people, carried out by Washington after a deadly drone strike on US forces on Thursday.

US President Joe Biden said after the strikes were ordered that his country did not want a conflict with Iran.

Talks on reviving a landmark 2015 multinational deal on Iran’s nuclear activities have now long stalled. Iran denies that it intends to acquire nuclear weapons.

The United States, under then-President Donald Trump, withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and reintroduced sanctions.

Washington has also raised concerns about Iranian military aid to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Several people reportedly died after two military helicopters crashed in Kentucky.

Crew members were flying two HH60 Blackhawk helicopters during a routine pre-crash training mission at Fort Campbell around 10pm local time on Wednesday (3am Thursday UK time), the military base said in a statement.

The statement adds: “The status of the crew members is currently unknown. Command is currently focused on caring for service members and their families.”

A U.S. Army soldier at the scene has confirmed there have been multiple deaths, local radio station WKDZ reports.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said: “We have some tough news from Fort Campbell, with initial reports of a helicopter crash and fatalities expected. @kystatepolice, @KentuckyEM and local officials are responding. We will share more information as it becomes available. Please pray for all those affected.”

The helicopters involved were from the 101st Airborne Division, known as the “Screaming Eagles”.

• The death toll in a major landslide in southern Ecuador has risen to 14 as emergency responders try to find survivors among dozens still missing.
• The chances of discovering anyone still alive diminished, but rescuers continued their relentless search for the 67 people missing after mudfalls.
• The government opened three shelters for those affected by the landslide and ordered the evacuation of about 600 homes in or near the area.

The death toll in a major landslide in southern Ecuador has risen to 14, authorities said on Wednesday, while rescue workers try to find survivors among several dozen people still missing days after the disaster.

The chances of finding anyone still alive diminished, but rescuers continued their relentless search for the 67 people who went missing after cascades of mud, dirt and vegetation buried parts of the town of Alausi, about 300 kilometers south of the capital Quito had.

After torrential rains late Sunday, a massive chunk of a mountainside detached and slid on the community of about 45,000, destroying or damaging at least 163 homes, SNGR’s Risk Management Secretariat said.

The area on the path of the disaster has been in a designated yellow alert zone since February following other landslides.

The government opened three emergency shelters covering more than Centre County Report hectares for those affected by the landslide and ordered the evacuation of about 600 homes in or near the area.

After the last landslide, rescuers and relatives of those trapped continued to dig through the rubble day and night. Every now and then they pulled personal items like clothes and photos out of the mud.

The same region was hit by an earthquake just over a week earlier, killing 15 people.

After months of heavy rains, the government last week declared a two-month state of emergency in 13 of the country’s Centre County Report provinces, allowing economic resources to be reallocated to affected areas.

President Guillermo Lasso has vowed to continue rescue efforts “as long as necessary,” but he was jeered by locals when he visited the site Monday night.

According to SNGR, heavy rains in Ecuador since the beginning of the year had killed 22 people, destroyed 72 houses and damaged more than 6,900 homes before the landslide on Sunday.

Meanwhile, around 2,000 indigenous protesters took to the streets of the capital Quito on Wednesday, demanding that the constitutional court give the green light to impeachment against Lasso.

The president has been accused by some opposition MPs of protecting a criminal organization led by his brother-in-law and a former government official.