A US federal judge has found Iran liable and awarded $841 million in damages to 36 plaintiffs whose family members had been wounded or killed in attacks by militant groups in Iraq’s Anbar province, their co-counsel said on Monday.
Iran provided significant material support for “terrorists” who carried out attacks in Iraq between 2003 and 2017, District Judge Randolph Moss of the District of Columbia said in a 12-page memorandum opinion.
The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and promptly faced a deadly insurgency.
Moss awarded about $420.7 million in compensatory damages and $420.7 million in punitive damages to the plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs generally rely on the US Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund for compensation as it is “very difficult” to collect judgments from Iran, their co-counsel Nicholas Reddick said.
“Pretty much all of Iran’s assets have already been seized by the government or prior litigants, so there isn’t just money sitting around in a bank account that we can go seize.”
Foreign governments are generally considered beyond the jurisdiction of US courts, but the terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) allows the courts to hold these countries accountable, where immunity is not absolute.
In 2016, Iran filed a lawsuit against the United States before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, for allegedly breaching a 1955 friendship treaty by allowing US courts to freeze assets of Iranian companies. The money was to be given in compensation to victims of terrorist attacks.
In 2023, the ICJ judges ruled Washington had illegally allowed courts to freeze assets of some Iranian companies and ordered the United States to pay compensation but left the amount to be determined later.
However, in a blow for Tehran, the world court said it did not have jurisdiction over $1.75 billion in frozen assets from Iran's central bank.
“Only if the United States completely cuts its backing for the Zionist regime, removes its military bases from the region, and ceases interfering in its affairs, their request for cooperation with Iran -- not in the near future but much later -- could be examined,” Khamenei said in a meeting with students in Tehran.
Marking the anniversary of November 4 US embassy takeover, known as Student Day in Iran, Khamenei described it as “a day of pride and victory” and said it should remain alive in the nation’s collective memory.
He said the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran had “exposed the true identity of the American government,” calling the embassy “a headquarters of plotting against the Revolution.”
On November 4, 1979, a group of students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, taking Americans hostage for 444 days. This act ignited the new Islamic government’s anti-US stance and set Iran on a path of prolonged conflict with Washington.
The Leader rejected the notion that the embassy seizure began Iran’s dispute with Washington. “The differences between the Islamic Republic and America are not tactical but essential,” he said. “Some distort history and imagine that the slogan ‘Death to America’ caused this conflict – this is naïve.”
The United States’ nature was “imperialist and intolerant of independence,” Khamenei added.
“Every American president has demanded Iran’s surrender, even if they did not say it aloud,” he said. “The current president said it openly -- he revealed the true face of America. What does the surrender of a nation like Iran even mean?”
Back in June, President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s unconditional surrender and warned US patience was wearing thin.
The United States held five rounds of negotiations with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program under a 60-day deadline set by President Donald Trump.
When no agreement was reached by the 61st day, on June 13, Israel launched a surprise military offensive, followed by US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow.
“I believe the enemy today neither has the power nor the conditions to begin a war,” Ali-Mohammad Naeini said in an interview with the podcast Story of the War on Sunday.
“They entered with maximal goals from the start. Now the question is, with what new motive or objective could they act again? When we speak of war, we mean the full-scale conflict that aimed to overthrow and divide the country.”
The problem for Iran’s adversaries, Naeini said, was not just weapons shortages but technological weakness. “Their real problem is the lack of advanced technology, inadequate air-defense systems, and limited technical knowledge,” he added.
“Even with what technology they possessed, they could not mount an effective defense, and there is still no sign of new strategic readiness that could improve deterrence or serve fresh objectives.”
Iran’s military readiness, he said, remains constant. “Preparations go on around the clock,” Naeini added. “From the youth of the Aerospace Force to ground units, the Basij, and senior commanders, everyone is in the field studying threats and developments.”
Response to Haniyeh assassination
Security officials, Naeini said, acted within hours of the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political chief, in a July 2024 Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran. “The National Security Council met immediately,” he said. “The conclusion was clear: a response was necessary.”
He said an investigation confirmed the strike was not internal sabotage. “A shoulder-launched missile entered through the window and struck while he was on a phone call,” Naeini said. “The attackers used his phone signal to locate and hit him.”
The follow-up operation, codenamed True Promise 2, he added, served both as retaliation and deterrence.
“That strike was not only a response to the assassination but also a boost to the regional deterrence posture and to the morale of our allies.”
Operations and missile strikes
The Guards, according to Naeini, conducted 22 waves of operations during the 12-day war. “We designed the campaign so the Israelis would continually experience going to their shelters,” he said.
“From the fifth to the eighth day, the battlefield superiority was absolute for us, and on the final day we enjoyed complete victory.”
Iranian forces downed at least 80 advanced drones and recorded 334 wrecks, he said. “These drones employed some of the world’s most advanced technologies,” Naeini added.
“Through cyber measures and short-range systems we neutralized those threats and restored relative air security.”
On June 23, 2025, the IRGC launched missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in retaliation for US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.
“Fourteen missiles were launched; six hit the target,” Naeini said, adding that “about $111 million was spent by the US to counter them.”
Iran’s aim was deterrence, not escalation, Naeini maintained. “When we can force the enemy to its knees with our operational units, there is no need to widen the war.”
The 12-day conflict ended June 24 under a US-brokered ceasefire, but concern deepened as 400 kilograms of Iran’s highly enriched uranium remained unaccounted for.
Iran’s missile and drone power across all branches of the Guards “remains fully ready,” though “not all capabilities have been engaged, nor was there any need,” Naeini said.
