U.S. District Judge George Daniels ordered Iran to pay over $10 billion in restitution to the families of the September 11th victims after a short court hearing on Wednesday.

Iran is reportedly ordered to pay $7.5 billion to the 9/11 victims families, which includes $2 million to each victims estate and $6.88 million for punitive damages.

Another $3 billion is owed to the insurance companies that paid for the property damage as a result of the terrorist attack that occurred on September 11th, 2001.

What is especially odd about this court hearing is the fact that this same judge absolved Saudi Arabia of any wrongdoing or connection to the aforementioned terrorist attack last year.

Moreover, it is noteworthy to mention that none of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Iranian nationals.

In fact, 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens, leaving many to wonder how exactly Iran is involved in this matter.

According to Russia Today, senior Iranian official Hussein Sheikholeslam called the ruling “absurd and ridiculous”.

Sheikholeslam issued a public statement through the Sputnik News:

“I never heard about this ruling and I’m very much surprised because the judge had no reason whatsoever to issue such a ruling… Iran never took part in any court hearings related to the events of September 11, 2001.”

“Even if such an absurd and ridiculous decision has been made, the charges simply hold no water because Iran has never been mentioned at any stage of the investigation and the trials that followed.”

Speculation behind the ruling is that judgement came as a result of a “default hearing”, meaning Iran did not show up for the case.

Russia Today concluded that Iran failed to defend itself against the claims.