Compensation from Iranian assets: in conversation with Javad Sholeh-Saadi

🔸Donald Trump says that damages caused to ships, cargoes, and related property will be paid from Iranian assets that are held and controlled by the United States; a threat whose legal details, the scope of assets covered, and the decision-making authority have not yet been clarified. Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s foreign minister, has called the move “a novelty” and warned that normalizing the seizure of governments’ assets threatens the security of the property of all countries. But can the U.S. president allocate a government’s blocked assets to cover potentially future damages without a court ruling? We put this question to Javad Sholeh-Saadi, an expert in law and international trade in France.