US Supreme Court starts hearing $2.2 billion terrorism compensation case

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday took up the case of a $2.2 billion lawsuit by American victims of terrorist attacks sponsored by Iran across the Middle East.
Over 1,000 victims, including family members of the victims of the 1983 US marine barracks bombing in Lebanon, the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia and a 2001 suicide bombing in Jerusalem, sued the Iranian government for damages and won. Tehran has refused to pay so the victims are seeking to seize frozen Iranian assets held by a bank in New York. Congress passed a special law in 2012 granting the victims access to the frozen assets by withdrawing the legal immunity of foreign governments that sponsored terrorism.