Supreme Court upholds Iran payments for terrorism

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld actions taken by Congress and President Obama that held Iran financially responsible for acts of terrorism dating back to the 1983 bombing of a Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.

The 6-2 ruling by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a victory for more than 1,000 victims and their surviving family members, who had sought access to about $1.75 billion in assets controlled by Iran in a U.S. bank.

The court determined that a law passed by Congress did not dictate to the courts how to handle the dispute, as the Iranian challengers had claimed. The justices also said the Constitution gives the president and Congress broad powers to conduct foreign policy.

“Exercise by Congress and the president of control over claims against foreign governments, as well as foreign government-owned property in the United States, is hardly a novelty,” Ginsburg said in summarizing her 24-page opinion from the bench.

Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissented. He said the narrowly crafted congressional statute, which specified that hundreds of plaintiffs should gain access to the money, sought to dictate the result of the case.

Read More- USA Today

Image courtesy of AP