TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's
former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter on Monday
to President Barack Obama, asking him to "quickly fix" a U.S. Supreme
Court ruling allowing families of people killed in attacks linked to
Iran to collect damages from some $2 billion in frozen assets.
While writing that his letter "is by no means of (a)
political nature," Ahmadinejad's message to Obama arrives amid swirling
speculation that the hard-line politician may run as a candidate in
Iran's presidential election next year.
It also comes as average Iranians largely have yet to
see the benefits of Iran's nuclear deal with world powers — something a
discontent Ahmadinejad and other hard-liners could mine in any
potential campaign against moderates.
In the letter, posted on a website associated with
the former president's office, Ahmadinejad focuses on the Supreme
Court's decision in April. The court's 6-2 ruling allows families of
victims of the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut and other attacks
linked to Iran to collect monetary damages from Iran.
At risk for Iran is $1.75 billion in bonds, plus
accumulating interest, owned by Iran's Bank Markazi and held by Citibank
in New York.
"It is the clear expectation of the Iranian nation
that the particular case of property seizure ... be quickly fixed by
your excellency and that not only the Iranian nation's rights be
restored and the seized property released and returned, but also the
damaged caused be fully compensated for," the letter said.
"I passionately advise you not to let the historical
defamation and bitter incident be recorded under your name," Ahmadinejad
added.
Ahmadinejad's letter was delivered to the Swiss
Embassy in Tehran, which has overseen America's interests in the country
in the years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and U.S. Embassy
takeover. Embassy officials declined to comment.
It's unclear what steps Ahmadinejad expects Obama to
take. There was no immediate comment from the White House regarding the
letter.
The timing of the letter, however, is interesting as
Ahmadinejad's name continues to circulate as a possible challenger to
moderate President Hassan Rouhani in Iran's coming May 19 election.
Rouhani's administration negotiated the nuclear accord, which put limits
on Iran's atomic program in exchange for the lifting of crippling
economic sanctions.
While Ahmadinejad previously served two four-year
terms, Iranian law calls only for a one-term cooling-off period before
he's eligible to run again.
How Iranians would react to another Ahmadinejad run, however, remains to be seen if and when it happens.
Under his presidency, Iran found itself heavily
sanctioned over the nuclear program as Ahmadinejad questioned the scale
of the Holocaust and predicted the demise of Israel. His disputed 2009
re-election saw widespread protests and violence. Two of his former vice
presidents have since been jailed for corruption.
___
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
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