IRAN BLASTS TERROR COMPENSATION RULING AS ‘THEFT’:

 Iran on Thursday, 21 April 2016 rejected a ruling by the USA Supreme Court which determined Iran would have to compensate families of victims of the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut and other attacks linked to the Islamic Republic. The ruling said Iran would have to compensate the victims with nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian funds. The spokesman of Iran's foreign ministry, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, blasted the verdict and said that "such a verdict is a theft of the assets and properties of the Islamic Republic of Iran." He added that Iran considers the American government responsible for compensating any damages that Iran might incur from the verdict. Over 1,000 American families had been involved in the ruling, which follows a lengthy legal battle over the fund and over compensation for Iranian terror attacks. Ansari said the verdict also shows Washington is still under the influence of Israel and that such hostile action against Tehran "only adds to the growing and intense mistrust of USA policies by the Iranian government and nation." (INN)