In its case announced Wednesday by the International Court of Justice, Tehran argues that Canada is “obliged to respect the jurisdictional immunity which Iran enjoys under international law” and should not allow civil claims against Iran “for alleged support to, or acts of, terrorism.”
Among the Canadian cases cited in Iran's written filing is a ruling by the Ontario Superior Court that the Iranian military's downing on Jan. 8, 2020, ofInternational Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles constituted an “act of terrorism.” All 176 people on board were killed. Designating the shootdown a terror act allowed a group of families to bypass Iran's legal immunity and seek compensation for their losses. Foreign nations are ordinarily immune from suits in Canadian courts.
Just hours before the shootdown, Iran had fired ballistic missiles at American bases in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.