Iranian Court Orders US To Pay 420 Million for 1980 Attack

On Thursday, Iran announced a court ruling demanding the U.S. government pay US$420 million in reparations for inflicting material and moral damages on Iranian people during a 1980 military operation.

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Citing the ruling issued at an undisclosed date by the 55th branch of the Tehran Court of Justice, the Iranian judiciary said the U.S. military should pay US$10 million to each of the 14 plaintiffs, totaling US$140 million in compensation for the damages it caused to them in a military mission, codenamed Operation Eagle Claw, in Iran's eastern desert city of Tabas.

The Iranian tribunal also ordered the U.S. government to pay an additional US$280 million in punitive damages, reported the Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary.

The ruling came after hearing complaints were filed against the U.S. government by 14 plaintiffs, 13 of whom are either the heirs or family members of those killed in the U.S. "terrorist" attack while the rest one was taken hostage during the operation.

Operation Eagle Claw was a failed rescue mission launched by the United States in April 25, 1980. Its goal was releasing 52 staffers at the U.S. embassy who had been held captive in the Iranian capital following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"However, a sandstorm hit and brought down the group of US military aircraft in the Tabas Desert, killing eight American servicemen and resulting in the failure of the mission," PressTV recalled.

"Inspections showed a helicopter crashed into a C-130 Hercules transport plane as five other choppers were stranded in the storm. The units involved in the operation were from the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps," it added.

According to Mizan, during the operation, the U.S. forces attacked a number of civilians, including passengers and drivers traveling on a nearby road, for no particular reason.