On the recordJuly 7, 2016
This amendment would put the United States in breach of its international legal obligations. It would also lead other countries to question U.S. integrity and reliability in entering into settlements and dispute resolution clauses in a wide range of treaties that directly affect our international economic interests, including treaties designed to protect U.S. investors abroad. Under the 1981 Algiers Accords, awards of the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal are final and binding and enforceable in the courts around the country. If the U.S. does not pay, Iran will attempt to enforce the awards against U.S. assets around the world, which are significant. Even if not successful, Iran could tie up U.S. assets in litigation for years. In almost every administration, the United States has entered into settlements with Iran, including especially with respect to claims at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal. Settling certain cases with Iran is key to the U.S. ability to avoiding far greater liability where we believe the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal is likely to award a far larger award against the United States. The U.S. has settled certain cases or parts of cases in the past for this reason, including most recently the settlement in January involving the Iran FMS Trust Fund. In cases where the administration does not believe we have serious exposure, it litigates vigorously. In sum, this amendment would put the United States in breach of its international obligation, expose U.S.…
