Kerry says U.S. will pay Iran 1.7 bln dollars over financial disputes

U.S. State Secretary John Kerry said on Sunday that Iran will receive 1.7 billion U.S. dollars in debt and interest over financial disputes between the two countries some 35 years ago.

Iran will receive 400 million dollars Trust Fund and roughly 1.3 billion dollars compromise on the interest, Kerry said in a statement.

In 1981, the Iran-U.S. Claims tribunal was established in The Hague to settle debts between the two countries, and Tehran filed a suit demanding the arms payment be returned.

The 400 million Trust Fund used by Iran was "to purchase military equipment from the United States prior to the break in diplomatic ties", according to the statement.

"In constructive bilateral discussions, we arrived at a fair settlement to this claim, which due to litigation risk, remains in the best interest of the United States," Kerry said.

"Iran's recovery was fixed at a reasonable rate of interest and therefore Iran is unable to pursue a bigger tribunal award against us, preventing U.S. taxpayers from being obligated to a larger amount of money," he added.

Kerry also said that all of the U.S. claims against Iran at the tribunal had long been settled, "resulting in payments of more than 2.5 billion dollars in awards to U.S. nationals and companies through that process".

However, he added, there are still more Iranian claims pending and the U.S. will "continue efforts to address these claims appropriately".

Also on Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a speech that the settlement between the United States and Iran at the Hague would save U.S. money. There was no point in dragging out that dispute, he noted.

The repayment is separate from the tens of billions of dollars in frozen foreign accounts that Iran can now access after the end of nuclear sanctions. Endit