The United Nations' highest court on Wednesday ordered the United States to lift sanctions on Iran that affect imports of humanitarian goods and products and services linked to the safety of civil aviation.
The judges at the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, handed a victory to Tehran, which had argued that the sanctions imposed since May by the U.S. President Donald Trump's administration violate the terms of a 1955 Treaty of Amity between the two countries.
The ICJ's ruling is legally binding, but it remains to be seen if the Trump administration will comply with it.
The ruling is likely to have, at most, a limited practical impact on the implementation of sanctions, which Washington is reimposing and tightening after pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with world powers.
In a preliminary ruling, the court said the U.S. must "remove, by means of its choosing, any impediments arising from" the reimposition of sanctions to the export to Iran of medicine and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities and spare parts and equipment necessary to ensure the safety of civil aviation.
While imposing the so-called "provisional measures," the court's president, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, stressed that the ruling does not prejudge the ultimate outcome of the case or establish that the court has jurisdiction.
Iranian state television trumpeted the court's decision in a scrolling graphic at the bottom of TV screens: "The victory of Tehran over Washington by The Hague court."
The U.S. is expected to challenge the court's jurisdiction in a future hearing.
At hearings in August, Tehran sought the suspension of the sanctions while the case challenging their legality is being heard – a process that can take years. U.S. lawyers responded that the sanctions are a legal and justified national security measure that cannot be challenged by Iran at the World Court.
In its decision, the court said the U.S. sanctions "have the potential to endanger civil aviation safety" in Iran and that sanctions limiting sales of goods required for humanitarian needs such as food, medicines and medical devices "may have a serious detrimental impact on the health and lives of individuals on the territory of Iran."
The court said the Trump administration must "ensure that licenses and necessary authorizations are granted" and payments not restricted if they are linked to humanitarian and aviation goods.
The court also told both the United States and Iran to "refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute."
Wednesday's ruling could set up another clash between the Trump administration and international courts.
Last month, Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, denounced the International Criminal Court, a separate and unrelated institution based a few miles from the International Court of Justice.
The ICC prosecutes people accused of war atrocities while the ICJ settles disputes between nations.
Bolton said last month that "for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us."
