Chile Eboe-Osuji, President, ICJ

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has defied the threats by the United States and ordered it to lift some of the economic sanctions it has imposed on Iran.

Iran had in August, approached the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, claiming that the sanctions violated a 1955 bilateral treaty regulating trade and commerce between the two countries.

Iran brought the case to the ICJ, seeking an emergency suspension of the sanctions, which effect the importation of humanitarian goods and products, as well as the safety of civilian aircraft.

The ICJ ruled that restrictions on importing “foodstuffs and medicines, including life-saving medicines, treatment for chronic disease or preventive care, and medical equipment, may have a serious detrimental impact on the health and lives of individuals on the territory of Iran.”

President Donald Trump announced in May that the U.S. was withdrawing from the 2015 agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, known as the JCPOA – reached by Iran, the five permanent members of the Security Council, Germany and the European Union.

The U.S. President ordered that sanctions “lifted or waived” in connection with the agreement, to be re-imposed, while the sanctions be imposed on anyone doing business with Iran in areas such as finance, oil and shipping.

In its ruling, the ICJ found Iran’s case to be credible and urgent, and ordered the U.S. to “remove, by means of its choosing, any impediments arising from the measures announced on 8 May”.

It also ordered the U.S. to allow medicines and medical devices, foodstuff and agricultural goods into Iran, together with “spare parts, equipment and associated services (including warranty, maintenance, repair services and inspections) necessary for the safety of civil aviation”.

The decision was reportedly the first time that international judges have ruled on a case of “economic warfare.”

Following the ICJ ruling, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, announced at a press conference that the U.S. was terminating the 1955 Treaty of Amity with Iran.

The treaty with Iran was among numerous such ones signed in the wake of World War II as the Truman and Eisenhower administrations tried to assemble a coalition of nations to counter the Soviet Union.

“This is a decision, frankly, that is 39 years overdue. In July, Iran brought a meritless case in the International Court of Justice, alleging violations of the Treaty of Amity.

“Iran seeks to challenge the United States decision to cease participation in the Iran nuclear deal and to re-impose the sanctions that were lifted as a part of that deal.

“Iran is attempting to interfere with the sovereign rights of the United States to take lawful actions necessary to protect our national security.

“And Iran is abusing the ICJ for political and propaganda purposes and their case, as you can see from the decision, lacked merit,”Pompeo said.

The U.S. National Security Adviser, John Bolton, said the administration also was pulling out of an amendment to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that Iran or others, notably the Palestinians, could use to sue the U.S. at The Hague-based tribunal.

“The United States will not sit idly by as baseless politicised claims are brought against us,” Bolton said, citing a case brought to the court by the “so-called state of Palestine” challenging the move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as the main reason for withdrawing.

Bolton, who had in September violently criticised the International Criminal Court, noted that previous Republican administrations had pulled out of various international agreements and bodies over “politicised cases.”