United States Consular Staff in Tehran

E‘f Mflw (United States of America v. Iran) 1CJ GL No 64, [1980] ICJ Rep 3, ICGJ 124 (1CJ 1980) Facts- This case arose when Iranian militants captured and occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran following the United States admitting the deposed shah of Iran to the country. The militants captured a number of hostages, but let the women and African Americans hostages free after brief negotiations, maintaining hold on the fifty remaining diplomatic staff and two private citizens. The militants demanded the return of the Shaw of Iran, deeming him as a criminal and enemy of the Iranian state. Despite the militants not acting on the orders of the Iranian government, no action was taken to diffuse the situation by Iran. Procedure- The United States responded to the situation by taking legal action against Iran through the International Court of Justice. Issue- (1) Is the Iranian government obliged to take action against the militants in order to diffuse the situation? (2) Is the Iranian state responsible for the action of these militants despite no direct involvement with the actions taken? Rule- The court seeks to rule this case based on the U.S. and Iran’s agreements in the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations of 1961 and the Vienna convention on Consular Relations of 1963. Application- The court applied the rules by determining whether or not the Iranian government could be held liable for the actions of these militants. It took into account the action taken by Iran as the hostage crisis was ongoing, which was lackluster. Rhetoric of the Iranian government is also taken into account, as they expressed many of the same sentiments displayed by the actions of the militants. Holding/Conclusion- (1) Yes, Iran's failure to take action towards restoring t%xe embassy back to the United States constitutes a violation of agreed upon and well established international law. (2) Yes, hn 1s responsible for such actions as the lack of willingness to mitigate the situation constitutes direct support of Lhcs.c actions. The ICJ orders Iran to fully restore the embassy back to the Americans and pay reparations agreed upon privately or in front of a court of law.