    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [November 28, 1995]
    [Pages 1789-1791]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Reporting on the National Emergency With Respect
    to Iran
    November 28, 1995

    To the Congress of the United States:
        I hereby report to the Congress on developments since the last
    Presidential report of May 18, 1995, concerning the national emergency
    with respect to Iran that was declared in Executive Order No. 12170 of
    November 14, 1979. This report is submitted pursuant to section 204(c)
    of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(c)
    and section 505(c) of the International Security and Development
    Cooperation Act of 1985, 22 U.S.C. 2349aa-9(c). This report covers
    events through September 29, 1995. My last report, dated May 18, 1995,
    covered events through April 18, 1995.
        1. On March 15 of this year by Executive Order No. 12957, I declared
    a separate national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency
    Economic Powers Act and imposed separate sanctions. Executive Order No.
    12959, issued May 6, 1995, then significantly augmented

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    those new sanctions. As a result, as I reported on September 18, 1995,
    in conjunction with the declaration of a separate emergency and the
    imposition of new sanctions, the Iranian Transactions Regulations, 31
    CFR Part 560, have been comprehensively amended.
        There have been no amendments to the Iranian Assets Control
    Regulations, 31 CFR Part 535, since the last report. However, the
    amendments to the Iranian Transactions Regulations that implement the
    new separate national emergency are of some relevance to the Iran-United
    States Claims Tribunal (the ``Tribunal'') and related activities. For
    example, sections 560.510, 560.513, and 560.525 contain general licenses
    with respect to, and provide for specific licensing of, certain
    transactions related to arbitral activities.
        2. The Tribunal, established at The Hague pursuant to the Algiers
    Accords, continues to make progress in arbitrating the claims before it.
    Since my last report, the Tribunal has rendered four awards, bringing
    the total number to 566. As of September 29, 1995, the value of awards
    to successful American claimants from the Security Account held by the
    NV Settlement Bank stood at $2,368,274,541.67.
        Iran has not replenished the Security Account established by the
    Accords to ensure payment of awards to successful U.S. claimants since
    October 8, 1992. The Account has remained continuously below the $500
    million balance required by the Algiers Accords since November 5, 1992.
    As of September 29, 1995, the total amount in the Security Account was
    $188,105,627.95, and the total amount in the Interest Account was
    $32,066,870.62.
        Therefore, the United States continues to pursue Case A/28, filed in
    September 1993, to require Iran to meet its obligations under the
    Accords to replenish the Security Account. Iran filed its Statement of
    Defense in that case on August 31, 1995. The United States is preparing
    a Reply for filing on December 4, 1995.
        3. The Department of State continues to present other United States
    Government claims against Iran, in coordination with concerned
    government agencies, and to respond to claims brought against the United
    States by Iran, in coordination with concerned government agencies.
        In September 1995, the Departments of Justice and State represented
    the United States in the first Tribunal hearing on a government-to-
    government claim in 5 years. The Full Tribunal heard arguments in Cases
    A/15(IV) and A/24. Case A/15(IV) is an interpretive dispute in which
    Iran claims that the United States has violated the Algiers Accords by
    its alleged failure to terminate all litigation against Iran in U.S.
    courts. Case A/24 involves a similar interpretive dispute in which,
    specifically, Iran claims that the obligation of the United States under
    the Accords to terminate litigation prohibits a lawsuit against Iran by
    the McKesson Corporation from proceeding in U.S. District Court for the
    District of Columbia. The McKesson Corporation reactivated that
    litigation against Iran in the United States following the Tribunal's
    negative ruling on Foremost McKesson Incorporated's claim before the
    Tribunal.
        Also in September 1995, Iran filed briefs in two cases, to which the
    United States is now preparing responses. In Case A/11, Iran filed its
    Hearing Memorial and Evidence. In that case, Iran has sued the United
    States for $10 billion, alleging that the United States failed to
    fulfill its obligations under the Accords to assist Iran in recovering
    the assets of the former Shah of Iran. Iran alleges that the United
    States improperly failed to (1) freeze the U.S. assets of the Shah's
    estate and certain U.S. assets of close relatives of the Shah; (2)
    report to Iran all known information about such assets; and (3)
    otherwise assist Iran in such litigation.
        In Case A/15(II:A), 3 years after the Tribunal's partial award in
    the case, Iran filed briefs and evidence relating to 10 of Iran's claims
    against the United States Government for nonmilitary property allegedly
    held by private companies in the United States. Although Iran's
    submission was made in response to a Tribunal order directing Iran to
    file its brief and evidence ``concerning all remaining issues to be
    decided by this Case,'' Iran's filing failed to address many claims in
    the case.
        In August 1995, the United States filed the second of two parts of
    its consolidated submission on the merits in Case B/61, addressing
    issues of liability and compensation. As reported in my May 1995 Report,
    Case B/61 involves a claim by Iran for compensation with respect to
    primarily military equipment that Iran alleges it did not receive. The
    equipment was purchased pursuant to commercial contracts with more than
    50 private American companies. Iran alleges that it suffered direct
    losses and consequential damages in excess of $2 billion in

    [[Page 1791]]

    total because of the United States Government's refusal to allow the
    export of the equipment after January 19, 1981, in alleged contravention
    of the Algiers Accords.
        4. Since my last report, the Tribunal has issued two important
    awards in favor of U.S. nationals considered dual U.S.-Iranian nationals
    by the Tribunal. On July 7, 1995, the Tribunal issued Award No. 565,
    awarding a claimant $1.1 million plus interest for Iran's expropriation
    of the claimant's shares in the Iranian architectural firm of Abdolaziz
    Farmafarmaian & Associates. On July 14, 1995, the Tribunal issued Award
    No. 566, awarding two claimants $129,869 each, plus interest, as
    compensation for Iran's taking of real property inherited by the
    claimants from their father. Award No. 566 is significant in that it is
    the Tribunal's first decision awarding dual national claimants
    compensation for Iran's expropriation of real property in Iran.
        5. The situation reviewed above continues to implicate important
    diplomatic, financial, and legal interests of the United States and its
    nationals and presents an unusual challenge to the national security and
    foreign policy of the United States. The Iranian Assets Control
    Regulations issued pursuant to Executive Order No. 12170 continue to
    play an important role in structuring our relationship with Iran and in
    enabling the United States to implement properly the Algiers Accords. I
    shall continue to exercise the powers at my disposal to deal with these
    problems and will continue to report periodically to the Congress on
    significant developments.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    November 28, 1995.