US ends 'friendship treaty' with Iran following court ruling

The US said Wednesday it was terminating a 1955 treaty with Iran, after Tehran cited the agreement in an international court ruling against Washington's sanctions policy.

The International Court of Justice ordered the US to lift sanctions on medicine, food and civilian airplane spare parts, an apparent bid by President Donald Trump's administration to squeeze Iran's economy.

But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted that the UN court did not rule more broadly against US sanctions and he insisted that Washington already exempted humanitarian goods from the sanctions.

"The court's ruling today was a defeat for Iran. It rightly rejected all of Iran's baseless requests," Pompeo told reporters.

Accusing Iran of "abusing the ICJ for political and propaganda purposes", Pompeo announced that the US was ending a friendship treaty signed when Iran was ruled by the pro-US shah.

"This is a decision, frankly, that is 39 years overdue," Pompeo said, referring to the time since the 1979 Islamic revolution transformed Iran from one of the closest allies to a determined foe.

"Given Iran's history of terrorism, ballistic missile activity and other malign behaviors, Iran's claims under the treaty are absurd," he said.

The Treaty of Amity  was signed between Tehran and Washington in 1955, and ratified by the US Senate a year later.

It lays out practicalities for unfettered economic relations and consular rights between the two countries.

The US withdrawal will have limited direct effect, with the two countries not even having diplomatic relations.

But Iran has repeatedly cited the treaty to press claims from the US, including when the US Navy shot down an Iran Air civilian plane in 1988, killing 290 people.

The UN's top court handed down the judgement on Wednesday after Iran asked it to halt economic measures that Trump reimposed after pulling out the landmark 2015 nuclear accord that was signed under his predecessor Barack Obama.

The court said sanctions on goods "required for humanitarian needs... may have a serious detrimental impact on the health and lives of individuals on the territory of Iran".

US sanctions also had the "potential to endanger civil aviation safety in Iran and the lives of its users".