US, others ordered to pay $50bln in damages over Gen. Soleimani case
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After 3,318 claimants filed a total of 114 cases claiming damages due to the assassination of Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian court has ruled in their favor.
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Iranians hold posters of martyr Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani during a protest in support of Palestine and Gaza in the Islamic Revolution Square, in Tehran, Iran, on November 18, 2023. (AP)
An Iranian court has ordered the US government and other individuals and entities to pay a total of $49.77 billion in damages to claimants in a case related to the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani by the US in January 2020.
The court said 42 defendants, including US government departments, military units, and individuals in the country, were convicted in the case. The ruling was issued by the 55th Branch of the Legal Court of International Relations of the Tehran Justice Department, which ruled in favor of 3,318 claimants as part of 114 cases from all over Iran.
The payments would be used to compensate the victims who had suffered damages due to the US assassination of martyr Soleimani.
Earlier, Iran officially issued indictments for 73 US citizens over their involvement in the assassination of the former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps' al-Quds Force Lieutenant General Soleimani, Iranian Judiciary Mohammad Mosaddeq announced on September 27.
Mosaddeq added that the judiciary has identified as of now 97 implicated individuals, noting that Iran is looking to bring to trial former US President Donald Trump for his part in the assassination of the Resistance leader.
According to Mosaddeq, Iran has sent requests for cooperation to nine countries suspected of involvement in coordinating the assassination, and some have already responded.
Read more: Khamenei: Soleimani brought new life to Resistance front
Operation Retaliation
On January 3, 2020, the US carried out a drone strike authorized by former US President Donald Trump targeting a car carrying the commander of al-Quds Force of the IRGC General Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi trench-mate and the second-in-command of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
The assassination led to an escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran, which pledged to avenge the martyrs. Martyr Soleimani was on an official visit to Iraq and was in a car with Martyr al-Muhandis at Baghdad's International Airport when they were assassinated by the US, via an attack drone, shortly after his arrival.
Days after his martyrdom, the anti-terror icon’s body was transferred to Iran and was laid to rest in his hometown of Kerman.
In retaliation, Tehran launched missiles at the Ain al-Assad base in Baghdad, one of the largest US bases in Iraq.
Iran in January identified 125 suspects and defendants in the assassination, explaining that "in addition to these suspects, there were other countries that had a role in the process."
"General Soleimani was not only a hero in the fight against terrorism and a security builder in the region but also a general and architect of peace, reconciliation, and brotherhood between Islamic nations," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.
Read more: General Soleimani, the revolutionary, the martyr, the legend
