Contact: Caroline Rabbitt Tabler (202) 224-2353
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Congressman Peter J. Roskam (R-IL) sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions urging him to advocate for transparency in a U.S. federal court where victims of Iranian terrorism are seeking compensation for damages previously awarded to them in the case Shlomo Leibovitch et al v. The Syrian Arab Republic et al. In the letter, the lawmakers stress the need for Boeing to disclose terms of its recently struck multi-billion-dollar commercial-airline agreement with Iran Air, Iran's state-owned carrier which was previously sanctioned for illicitly supporting Iran's military and terrorist activities.
The Leibovitch family, whose child was killed in a 2003 Iran-sponsored terrorist attack, is seeking to enforce an unpaid $67 million judgment against Iran by demanding information of Iranian assets in the U.S. and potentially placing a lien on those which may be in the possession of Boeing. Boeing has refused to disclose any of the deal's terms, claiming it would harm national security by jeopardizing the Iran nuclear deal.
Judge Rubin Castillo of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division has given the U.S. government until October 12 to state whether it agrees such disclosure would harm U.S. national security.
In the letter, the lawmakers wrote:
"We encourage the Justice Department to clarify for the court both the terms of the JCPOA as well as the national security interest we have in Iran compensating the victims in the Leibovitch case and other similar cases. Iran is the world's top sponsor of terrorism and its leaders have specifically targeted Americans. Allowing disclosure of the Boeing information in this case may permit Iran's assets to be attached for purposes of enforcing the Leibovitch ruling. That would impose a consequence on Iran for its nefarious activities and add to U.S. efforts to deter such activities."
Please view the full letter here.
