ISRAEL ORDERED TO PAY $1.1 BILLION TO IRAN OVER OIL
Israel has been ordered by a
Swiss national court to pay Iran $1.1 billion in a long-standing legal battle
involving oil.
By: Hana Levi Julian / Published:
May 20th, 2015 / Latest update: May 21st, 2015
 |
| EILAT TERMINAL |
A Swiss court has ordered Israel
to pay Iran $1.1 billion after a long legal battle over a joint venture prior
to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, IRNA reports.
An additional $7 million in legal fees was demanded as well, according
to a source quoted Wednesday (May 20) by the Iranian state-run news agency. However, it is not clear whether the legal
fees were allowed.
The case relates to Iranian
shares in the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) and two oil ports and
storage facilities, as well as a fleet of tankers that were allegedly
expropriated by Israel. According to
IRNA, in addition to the above fees, Iran has also been allowed by
Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court to file a $7 billion arbitration claim
against Israel as well.
In 1989, the Swiss court fined
$500 million to Fimarco Anstalt, a company registered before Iran’s Islamic
Revolution in Lichtenstein by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Citing an alleged “informed source” at the
Presidential Center for Legal Affairs in Iran, IRNA reported that Israel was
fined for selling the oil and “withholding the money.”
According to the report, Iran
has been conducting three arbitration suits against Israel at French and Swiss
courts in a legal battle it hopes will gain several billion dollars. The case is linked to an Israeli-Iranian
joint business venture in 1968 that involved shipping Iranian oil to Eilat for
export to Europe.
The National Iranian Oil
Company (NIOC) allegedly delivered 14.75 million cubic meters of crude oil
worth $450 million to Israel’s Trans-Asiatic Oil (TAO) Ltd. The
Islamist government under the Ayatollahs cancelled the contract after the
revolution, saying the country did not recognize Israel.
To recoup its losses, Tel Aviv allegedly expropriated Iranian assets
and launched its own litigation against Tehran.
About the Author: Hana Levi
Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and
Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with
The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for
Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years
working in broadcast journalism.
ISRAEL REFUSES TO PAY $1.1
BILLION SWISS COURT AWARD TO IRAN
Israel rejects a Swiss court
decision granting $1.1 billion to Iran after an oil deal went sour after the
Islamic Revolution. By: Hana Levi Julian
ISRAEL SAYS IT WILL NOT PAY A $1.1 BILLION AWARD TO IRAN OVER A
DISPUTE DATING BACK TO THE PERIOD OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION, WON BY TEHRAN THIS
WEEK IN THE SWISS FEDERAL COURT.
“Under the laws of trade we
cannot transfer funds to an enemy country,” read a statement issued by the
Finance Ministry on Wednesday.
The response came after the
court ordered the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC), to pay the National
Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) $1.1 billion over a joint venture that began long
before the ayatollahs seized Tehran’s government. The plaintiffs also demanded
$7 million in legal fees, although it is not clear whether the court approved
the charge. In addition, the court allowed Iran to file a $7 billion
arbitration claim against the Jewish State.
In 1968, the two countries
made a deal to carry oil from Asia to Eilat and on to Europe. At the time, the
NIOC delivered 14.75 million cubic meters of crude oil, worth $450 million, to
Israel’s Trans-Asiatic Oil (TAO), Ltd. The
oil moved via a pipeline that reached from Israel’s southernmost port eastward
to its Mediterranean port of Ashkelon, and then up the coast to its northern
port of Haifa. Today, the EAPC pipeline
in Israel stretches approximately 750 kilometers, according to the company’s
website.
The ayatollahs cut off Iran’s business with Israel – and its deal with
EAPC –as soon as the ruling Shah was eliminated from the government, saying the
Islamic Republic did not recognize Israel as a legitimate nation. To this day,
Iran still vows to “wipe the Zionist entity from the map of the world.”
Israel seized Iranian assets
and launched a counter-suit to offset its own losses after the deal went sour.
About the Author: Hana Levi
Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and
Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with
The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for
Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years
working in broadcast journalism.
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