Iranian Court Orders U.S. to Pay $330 Million for ‘Planning Coup’ in 1980

i24 News – A Tehran court has ruled that the U.S. government must pay a sum of $330 million in damages for its alleged involvement in planning a coup against the newly established Islamic Republic back in 1980.

The decision was announced by Iran’s judiciary on a Saturday.

The incident in question occurred a year after the 1979 Islamic revolution that saw the ousting of the U.S.-backed Shah regime. At that time, a group primarily comprising army officers aimed to overthrow the nascent government.

Led by Saeed Mahdiyoun, a former Iranian air force commander, the group was based at the Nojeh air base in the western province of Hamedan.

Reports from Iran’s state news agency IRNA suggest that clashes between the coup plotters and government forces led to fatalities and numerous arrests. The coup’s objectives reportedly included seizing control of military bases across the nation and targeting strategic centers as well as the residences of key revolutionary figures. These efforts, however, were ultimately thwarted.

It was revealed that the ruling was prompted by a legal petition filed last year by relatives of those who lost their lives during the coup attempt. These petitioners took their case to Iran’s International Court, asserting that the United States had orchestrated and executed the coup.

The court ultimately ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, ordering the U.S. government to pay $30 million in material and moral damages, along with an additional $300 million in punitive damages.

Notably, this is not the first instance of a financial dispute stemming from historical events. In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered frozen Iranian assets to be allocated to victims of attacks attributed to Iran, a move that Tehran staunchly denies responsibility for.

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