In 1979, Iran declared Israel an enemy and severed all business ties. Now, a Swiss court has ruled that Israel must compensate Iran for its half of a joint oil production program that existed before the Islamic revolution.
By: Lauren Calin, World Israel News
A Swiss court has ordered an Israeli company to pay Iran $1.1 billion in compensation for taking over the Iranian share of a business partnership that was cancelled by Iran following the Islamic Revolution.
Israel rejected the court’s ruling. Israel’s Finance Ministry indicated that the money would not be paid as it is a violation of Israeli law to transfer funds to an enemy state. The ministry issued a statement, saying: “Without relating to the heart of the matter, we point out that according to the Law for Trading with the Enemy it is prohibited to transfer money to an enemy country including the Iranian National Oil Company.”
The Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) was established in 1968 as a joint partnership between Israeli fuel companies and the Israeli and Iranian governments. Iran cancelled its contract in 1979 following the Islamic Revolution. In response, Israel expropriated Iran’s share.
Iran launched three lawsuits in Swiss and French courts in order to claim a share of the profits to which it would have been entitled, compensation for expropriated property and payment for crude oil that was delivered to Israel, but not paid for at the time of the Revolution. According to IRNA, the official Iranian news agency, this specific judgment deals with the matter of the crude oil.
