1/29/2026 7:33:31 PM | less than a minute read

Hague Tribunal Claims Could Be Iran’s Last Bargaining Chip

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Tim Smyth

Counsel

Get in touch

Tim Smyth

Counsel

BSF partner Tim Smyth published an article in The Times analyzing the potential role of the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in The Hague as a source of leverage in current U.S.-Iran relations. Iran’s multibillion-dollar pending claims against the U.S. before the tribunal date back to 1981; however, arguments in the largest of these cases were heard in 2019 and a decision remains pending. Tim’s article examines the possibility that these claims could play a diplomatic role in resolving current U.S.-Iranian tensions.

As the tribunal’s decision on the largest of the remaining claims draws closer, the possibility arises of Iran using these claims in negotiations with the US to reach a diplomatic solution to the current crisis. Indeed, they could be one of the only bargaining chips Iran has.

www.thetimes.com/...