TEHRAN (Tasnim) US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said Washington has not yet received Irans notes of protest over two recent court rulings against the Islamic Republic.
weve obviously seen the media reports that they did summon him (Swiss ambassador) in, as you note, but we dont have any kind of readout yet. I we can certainly try to share what they convey, but Im not sure how much I can share, Toner said during a daily press briefing on Tuesday as reported by the official website of the US Department of State.
The remarks came after Director General of Irans Foreign Ministry for American Affairs Mohammad Keshavarz-Zadeh on Tuesday summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran to submit two official notes to him in protest at the two recent rulings US courts have issued against Iran.
The Swiss embassy represents US interests in Iran.
The Iranian diplomat slammed the US decision to seize the Central Bank of Irans assets in an American bank as a brazen violation of Washingtons bilateral agreements with Tehran.
Keshavarz-Zadeh noted that the verdict is in breach of the US international legal commitments and also violates the immunity of the Iranian governments assets.
Last week, US Supreme Court upheld the Congress and President Barack Obamas actions to hold Iran financially responsible for the 1983 bombing that killed 241 Marines at their barracks in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
The ruling allows the families of the Marines and victims of other attacks that courts have linked to Iran to seize some $2 billion in assets held in New Yorks Citibank, belonging to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which has been blocked under US sanctions.
Keshavarz-Zadeh also strongly protested another US court ruling that has held Iran liable for damages in the 9/11 terror attacks.
Last month, a federal judge in New York ordered Tehran to pay $11 billion in compensation to families of 9/11 attack victims.
Describing the charges as baseless, Keshavarz-Zadeh said there is no clue to Irans role or to the participation of Iranian nationals in the attacks.
The Swiss ambassador said he will immediately let the US Department of State know about Irans protest and will report back to Iran.