Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal

In 1981, the United States and Iran entered into the Algiers Accords, which brought an end to the Embassy hostage crisis and created the Tribunal to resolve existing disputes between the two countries and their nationals. The Tribunal sits in The Hague, The Netherlands and is comprised of nine arbitrators: three appointed by Iran, three by the United States, and three by the party-appointed members acting jointly or, in absence of agreement by an appointing authority.

Under the Accords, the United States released the vast majority of Iran’s "frozen" assets and transferred them directly to Iran or to various accounts to pay outstanding claims. Almost all of the approximately 4,700 private U.S. claims filed against the Government of Iran at the Tribunal have been resolved and have resulted in more than $2.5 billion in awards to U.S. nationals and companies. The period for filing new private claims against Iran expired on January 19, 1982.

The two governments have also filed claims against each other. The vast majority of these inter-governmental claims were filed by Iran against the United States. While some parts of those claims have been resolved, a number of major cases remain to be adjudicated at the Tribunal.

Persons seeking additional information with respect to the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal may write to: