The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has confirmed that Iran has filed a lawsuit against the United States over the reimposition of sanctions against Tehran by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, claiming the move violates the nuclear treaty Tehran signed with the United States and five other world powers.
A U.S. State Department official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said on July 17 that Iran's application was "baseless" and that Washington intended "to vigorously defend the United States before the ICJ."
Confirmation by the court on July 17 came a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter that the case was filed at the ICJ to hold the United States "accountable for its unlawful reimposition of unilateral sanctions."
"Iran is committed to the rule of law in the face of U.S. contempt for diplomacy and legal obligations," Zarif tweeted. "It's imperative to counter its habit of violating international law."
Under the deal signed in 2015, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the European Union agreed to lift international sanctions against Iran.
In return, Iran scaled back its uranium-enrichment program and promised not work on developing nuclear weapons.
The lifting of sanctions has allowed Iran to sell its oil and natural gas on world markets -- although secondary U.S. sanctions remained in place.
But in May, the Trump administration unilaterally pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Trump said during a NATO summit last week that with the U.S. increasing sanctions on Iran, "at a certain point they're going to call me and say, 'Let's make a deal,' and we'll make a deal."
But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on July 17 that if Trump wants to negotiate after pulling out of the international agreement, he would have to "initiate the call himself" because Iran's top leadership was now rejecting any talks with the United States.