ICJ Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty (Iran v US, 2018)

ICJ Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty (Iran v US, 2018) is the International Court of Justice case filed by Iran on 16 July 2018, challenging the United States' reimposition of sanctions after its withdrawal from the JCPOA as breaches of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights. The provisional measures order of 3 October 2018 unanimously required the United States to remove impediments arising from the measures announced on 8 May 2018 to exports to Iran of medicines and medical devices, foodstuffs and agricultural commodities, and spare parts, equipment and associated services necessary for civil aviation safety. It also required the necessary licences and authorisations, and unrestricted payments and transfers for those specified goods and services. Both parties were ordered to avoid aggravating or extending the dispute.

Trigger and procedure

The United States announced its withdrawal from the JCPOA and the reimposition of sanctions on 8 May 2018, the campaign treated at United States maximum-pressure sanctions campaign against Iran (2018-2021). Iran invoked Article XXI(2) of the Treaty of Amity, the jurisdictional provision also invoked in ICJ Certain Iranian Assets (2023). The United States gave notice of termination on 3 October 2018; the Treaty ceased to have effect one year later, on 3 October 2019. Notification did not terminate it immediately or end the pending case.

In its judgment of 3 February 2021, the Court rejected the United States preliminary objections, found jurisdiction under Article XXI(2), and held Iran's application admissible. As at 16 October 2026, the public case page lists no merits judgment. Its latest listed procedural development remains the order of 18 September 2023, which extended the United States rejoinder deadline to 15 December 2023. That public record does not establish the outcome of the merits or prove that no unlisted procedural activity has occurred.

Effects and limits

The order illustrates why legal humanitarian permissions and practical access must be distinguished. In October 2018 the Court noted that imports of food and medical goods had become harder despite exemptions, including because foreign banks had withdrawn financing or refused transfers. It considered United States assurances of best endeavours inadequate to remove the identified risk of irreparable harm. These were findings supporting urgent provisional protection, not a later assessment of compliance with the order.

Provisional measures are binding, but the 2018 order did not decide the merits. Nor did the 2021 jurisdiction judgment establish that every challenged sanction breached the Treaty. The case concerns particular treaty obligations and cannot by itself establish a general rule against unilateral sanctions. Treaty termination also limited the continuing treaty framework without converting the pending proceedings into a general review of United States foreign policy.

See also

ICJ Certain Iranian Assets (2023) · United States maximum-pressure sanctions campaign against Iran (2018-2021) · UNSCR 2231 (2015) · Humanitarian exemptions and general licences · ICJ Nicaragua v United States (1986) · Financial warfare

Sources

1. International Court of Justice, *Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America)*, Provisional Measures, Order, 3 October 2018, I.C.J. Reports 2018, p. 622, especially paragraphs 88 to 102.
2. International Court of Justice, *Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty*, Preliminary Objections, Judgment, 3 February 2021, I.C.J. Reports 2021, p. 9, especially paragraphs 1, 24, 35 to 39 and 114.
3. International Court of Justice, *Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty*, Order, 18 September 2023, I.C.J. Reports 2023, p. 569.
4. International Court of Justice, case 175 docket, checked 16 October 2026.
5. International Court of Justice, *Certain Iranian Assets*, Judgment, 30 March 2023, I.C.J. Reports 2023, p. 51, paragraph 228, confirming the Treaty ceased to have effect one year after the notice of 3 October 2018.