[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 48 (Monday, December 4, 1995)]
[Pages 2066-2068]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress on 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 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

[[Page 2067]]

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 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.

[[Page 2068]]