Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said an Iranian court issued the ruling after extensive hearings on a lawsuit filed by 607 families of those identified by Iran as martyrs and injured victims of the 2022 disturbances.
The plaintiffs demanded material, moral and punitive damages.
According to the verdict, the court found that deliberate US financial, material and moral support for “rioters” constituted a violation of Iranian sovereignty and international law.
The ruling referenced multiple domestic statutes, including Iran’s civil code, counter-terrorism and counter-sanctions laws, and legislation authorizing Iranian courts to hear civil claims against foreign governments.
The court ordered compensation across several categories, including billions in material and moral damages for families of the deceased, payments for 25 individuals with serious injuries, and punitive damages exceeding $30 billion. The ruling also includes interest until full enforcement, as well as all legal costs.
Protests broke out in September 2022 in Iran following the death in custody of Iranian girl Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for violating the Islamic republic’s dress code for women.
Hundreds of people, including security personnel, were killed during the foreign-backed unrest.
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, stressed: “I state explicitly that these riots and acts of insecurity were orchestrated by the United States and the usurping, fake Zionist regime, with their paid agents and some treacherous Iranians abroad assisting them.”
