Iran Ordered to Pay $428.5M for Khobar Towers
PHOTO CAPTION: The damaged Khobar Towers housing complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, following the June 25, 1996 bombing that killed 19 U.S. Airmen and injured hundreds of military personnel and civilians. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Cesar Rodriguez)
A federal judge has entered a $428.5 million judgment against Iran for its support of the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, awarding damages to U.S. servicemembers injured in the attack and members of their families.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell issued the default judgment Wednesday, Sept. 9, awarding $214.25 million in compensatory damages and another $214.25 million in punitive damages to 59 plaintiffs. The group includes 23 servicemembers and 36 family members.
One unusual part of the ruling was how the court calculated damages for injured servicemembers: Department of Veterans Affairs disability ratings helped determine the size of their awards.
Servicemembers with Khobar Towers-related disability ratings of 70% to 100% were awarded $7 million in compensatory damages, those rated 40% to 60% received $6 million, and those rated at 30% or below received $5 million. Each compensatory award was then matched with an equal punitive-damages award.
The plaintiffs described lasting injuries including PTSD, hearing problems and other physical and psychological conditions stemming from the attack. Previous Khobar Towers cases reviewed by Howell have similarly relied on VA records to calculate how much of a veteran's disability was attributable specifically to the bombing.
On June 25, 1996, a truck bomb exploded outside the Khobar Towers housing complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, where U.S. military personnel supporting Operation Southern Watch were housed. Nineteen Airmen were killed and more than 400 U.S. and international military personnel and civilians were injured.
Federal courts have repeatedly found Iran liable in lawsuits stemming from the attack, concluding that Iran provided material support and resources that enabled Hezbollah to carry it out. The new plaintiffs brought their claims under the terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
Iran did not appear to defend the lawsuit, resulting in a default judgment. Howell denied claims from another 17 plaintiffs who were attempting to proceed through an estate or other representative because they had not established the required standing.
The judgment does not mean Iran has already paid the $428.5 million. Collecting judgments against foreign governments can involve separate legal proceedings over assets and compensation mechanisms.
But nearly three decades after the bombing, the ruling puts another substantial monetary judgment on the books for servicemembers and families whose lives were changed at Khobar Towers.
Source: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; U.S. Air Force
(Source: OAF Nation)
