Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) released a statement on Wednesday applauding Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for withdrawing the United States from the 1955 Treaty of Amity with Iran.
Iran had used the treaty to justify its case against U.S. sanctions before the International Court of Justice, a case Cotton called "baseless."
"If Tehran wants access to additional parts and equipment for civil aviation, it should use its domestic fleet for carrying civilian passengers instead of munitions and troops to support its allies in Syria," Cotton said. "Iran’s case is baseless, and I applaud Secretary Pompeo’s decision to withdraw the United States from such an outdated agreement."
Iran’s case is baseless, and I applaud Secretary Pompeo’s decision to withdraw the United States from such an outdated agreement.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) October 3, 2018
The decision to terminate the treaty came after Iran claimed the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the much-debated nuclear deal and the subsequent reimposition of sanctions on Iran was a violation of the treaty. The ICJ, the top court of the United Nations, early on Wednesday ordered the United States to lift certain sanctions on Iran, including those on imports linked to civil aviation and medical devices, citing the Treaty of Amity.
While the Washington Post notes the ICJ does not have the power to enforce its decisions and those decisions are usually ignored by the United States anyway, Pompeo immediately withdrew the United States from the Treaty of Amity.
"We ought to have pulled out of it decades ago," Pompeo said, calling it "39 years overdue" in a reference to the 1979 revolution in Iran. "Today marked a useful point with the decision that was made this morning from the ICJ. This marked a useful point for us to demonstrate the absolute absurdity of the Treaty of Amity between the United States and the Islamic Republic."
Pompeo told reporters that Iran's claims made under the treaty lacked merit and were "absurd."
"Given Iran’s history of terrorism, ballistic missile activity, and other malign behaviors, Iran’s claims under the treaty are absurd," Pompeo said. "Iran is abusing the ICJ for political and propaganda purposes, and their case, as you can see from the decision, lacked merit."