Tehran, Iran — An Iranian court on Thursday ordered the U.S. government to pay more than $6.7 billion in damages to a Swedish company that stopped supplying special bandages and plasters for people with a rare skin condition after Washington imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The ruling by the International Relations Court in Tehran comes after Iran seized a shipment of Kuwaiti crude oil worth $50 million last year for American energy company Chevron Corp. in the Strait of Hormuz, amid tensions with the West, which later reportedly also happened following the trial of people suffering from Epidermolysis bullosa.
A report Thursday by state news agency IRNA described the $6.7 billion order as filed on behalf of 300 plaintiffs, including relatives of victims and people who were physically and emotionally damaged. IRNA said about 20 patients died after the Swedish company’s decision.
Epidermolysis bullosa is a rare genetic condition that causes blisters to form all over the body and eyes. It can be incredibly painful and can kill those affected. Young people who suffer from the disease are known as “butterfly children” because their skin can appear as fragile as a butterfly’s wing.
The ruling comes after U.S. judges issued rulings ordering Iran to pay billions of dollars for attacks linked to Tehran, and for those detained by Iran and used as pawns in negotiations between the countries. Iran has responded with competing lawsuits accusing it of the US of involvement in an Islamic State attack in 2017The United Nations Supreme Court has also Last year, Tehran rejected a legal request to release about $2 billion in Iranian Central Bank assets that had been frozen by US authorities.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, apparently prompting the Swedish company to pull out of the Iranian market. Iran now says it produces the bandages locally.
The collapse of the nuclear deal has also led to increased tensions between Iran and the U.S., leading to a series of attacks and ship seizures. Iran seized the Marshall Islands-flagged ship carrying Chevron oil last year. The vessel, called the Advantage Sweet, began transmitting its position for the first time since the seizure on Wednesday, possibly a signal that the ship is preparing to leave Iran.
Chevron, based in San Ramon, California, has maintained that the Advantage Sweet was “seized under false pretenses.” The company has since written off the cargo as a loss.