The Trump administration on Wednesday pulled out of two international agreements after Iran and the Palestinians complained to the International Court of Justice about US policies, the latest withdrawal by Washington from multilateral accords.
The US national security adviser John Bolton slammed the highest United Nations tribunal as “politicized and ineffective” as he announced that the United States would review all international agreements that could expose it to binding decisions by the ICJ.
Earlier on Wednesday the ICJ handed a victory to Tehran, ordering the United States to ensure that sanctions against Iran, due to be tightened next month, do not affect humanitarian aid or civil aviation safety.
Tehran had argued that the US sanctions imposed since May by the Trump administration violated the terms their 1955 Treaty of Amity. Washington responded by pulling out of the treaty, a little-known agreement that was signed long before Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution that turned the two countries into arch enemies.
The ICJ, based in The Hague, in the Netherlands, is the United Nations’ venue for resolving disputes between nations.
Bolton, citing what he called “Iran’s abuse of the ICJ,” said the United States would also withdraw from the “optional protocol” under the 1961 Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations.
“We will commence a review of all international agreements that may still expose the United States to purported binding jurisdiction, dispute resolution in the International Court of Justice,” Bolton said on Wednesday. “The United States will not sit idly by as baseless politicized claims are brought against us.”

US quits international accords over Jerusalem embassy case, Iran nuclearization

The US national security adviser John Bolton slammed the highest United Nations tribunal as “politicized and ineffective”. (AP)
Reuters, Washington
Thursday 04 October 2018
Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:52 - GMT 06:52
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