Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), also known as Bank Markazi, says the country has won a legal battle in Europe to dismiss a US attempt to have Iranian funds blocked and handed over to Washington for compensating the so-called victims of terror.

Abdolnasser Hemmati said on Wednesday that courts in Luxembourg had taken Iran’s side in a dispute over $1.6 billion worth of Iranian funds hold by Clearstream, a securities depository, which Washington had sought to block and confiscate.

“Through Bank Markazi’s legal follow-up, the US attempt to have CBI’s funds in Europe confiscated and transferred was nullified,” said Hemmati.

The CBI governor said that Iran had first won a legal case to have the funds in Luxembourg unblocked and then a second court in the small European country issued a temporary verdict to prevent the transfer of the Iranian funds to the United States.

Other courts in Europe have previously dismissed claims brought by American plaintiffs to seize CBI assets to pay for damages suffered over September 11, 2001 attacks.

Iran totally denies charges related to any involvement in the 9/11 attacks and insists they are politically motivated.

The US government has ramped up its support for claims on Iranian assets in other parts of the world since Washington withdrew from an international nuclear deal with Iran and imposed a series of harsh sanctions on the country in November 2018.

Even courts in the United States have dismissed complaints meant for confiscation of Iranian assets in the country for paying for false claims related to terrorism.