(Adds statement by U.S. Secretary of State)By Stephanie van den Berg and Toby SterlingTHE HAGUE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Iranian lawyers asked theInternational Court of Justice on Monday to order the UnitedStates to lift sanctions imposed by the Trump administrationagainst Tehran, but Washington described the suit as meritless.At the start of a week of hearings in The Hague, the court'spresident asked the United States to respect the outcome of thecase that Iran filed in July. During their decades of animosity,both countries have ignored some rulings at the court.Tehran's suit says the U.S. sanctions, which are damagingthe already weak Iranian economy, violate terms of alittle-known friendship treaty between the twocountries. "The U.S. is publicly propagating a policy intended todamage as severely as possible Iran's economy and Iraniannational companies, and therefore inevitably Iranian nationals,"said Mohsen Mohebi, representing Iran. "This policy is plainlyin violation of the 1955 Treaty of Amity."He said Iran had sought a diplomatic solution to thecountries' dispute but was rejected.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described Iran's suit as"an attempt to interfere with the sovereign rights of the UnitedStates to take lawful actions, including re-imposition ofsanctions, which are necessary to protect our nationalsecurity"."We will vigorously defend against Iran's meritless claimsthis week in The Hague," he said in a statement.
A ruling is expected within a month, though no date has beenset.The ICJ is the United Nations tribunal for resolvinginternational disputes. Its rulings are binding, but it has nopower to enforce them.U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 pactbetween Iran and major world powers under which sanctions werelifted in return for Tehran accepting curbs on its nuclearprogramme. The Trump administration then announced unilateralplans to restore sanctions against Tehran.Although Washington's European allies protested againstTrump's move, most Western companies intend to adhere to thesanctions, preferring to lose business in Iran than be punishedby the United States or barred from doing business there.The United States and Iran have clashed at the court in thepast since they became enemies after Iran's 1979 IslamicRevolution. Iran ignored a 1980 U.S. suit at the ICJ over theseizure of American diplomats in Tehran, which the court foundto be illegal.In another suit and countersuit, the ICJ found that the 1955treaty was still valid even though it was signed before therevolution. However, the court found in 2003 that neitheractions by the United States against Iranian oil platforms norIranian attacks on American shipping violated the treaty.
(Writing by Toby SterlingEditing by David Goodman, Peter Graff and David Stamp)