A US federal judge has made the bold move to order Iran to pay a whopping $6 billion (£4.3 billion) to the families and loved ones of the victims of the 2001 September 11 attacks in New York City.
According to ABC News, Judge George B. Daniels has ruled that the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran are all liable for more than 1,000 victims whose families have sued.
Close to 3,000 people died in the attacks that day.
This is despite none of the 19 hijackers being from Iran and instead coming from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.
But lawyers argued that Iran helped train the hijackers and provided assistance, even though the 9/11 Commission found no evidence of that.
Judge Daniels said $12.5 million should be awarded to a spouse, $8.5 million to a parent, $8.5 million to a child and $4.25 million to a sibling. Interest has also been applied to the ruling.
Attorney Robert Haefele, who is representing the people who launched the lawsuit, said in a statement: "In December 2011, a New York federal court held a hearing and found that the evidence presented established that Iran's provision of material support to al-Qaeda was a cause of the 9/11 attacks and the resulting damage, injuries, and deaths.
"It is difficult for those injured or left behind to ignore the findings of the federal court about Iran's culpability.
"But those findings should not overshadow the mountain of evidence presented against Saudi Arabia, which remains central to the plaintiffs' case."
The lawsuit was launched in 2004 but it wasn't until two years ago that the case could proceed when the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act was passed by Congress. That piece of legislation allowed for the US to hold a country or state liable.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Iran's then-president Mohammad Khatami said: "Iran fully understands the feelings of the Americans about the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11."
The US and Iran even worked together to help overthrow the Taliban.
The country has never responded to the lawsuit and it's unlikely that the it will hand over the cash to the victim's loved ones. The ruling from Judge Daniels is largely being called 'symbolic' rather than anything else.
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Sources: ABC News
Topics: Iran, America, 9/11, News, terror, US News, court