**Objective.** Determine whether and under what theories is Iran liable for acts of international...

1. **Theory 1** Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 28 U.S.C. § 1605A

1.1. **No sovereign immunity in any case where “money damages are sought against a foreign state for personal injury or death that was caused by an act of torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or the provision of material support or resources . . . [.]” 28 U.S.C.A. § 1605A(a)(1).**

1.2. **Possible Plaintiffs.** Any U.S. national or the legal representative thereof

1.3. **Possible Defendants.** Any foreign state designated as a state sponsor of terrorism at the time of the alleged act of terrorism or was designated as a result of that act.

1.4. **Recoverable Damages.**

1.4.1. Personal injury/wrongful death economic damages, solatium, pain and suffering, and punitive damages.

1.5. **Pitfalls.**

1.5.1. (1) Less damages available. (2) Defendant-less litigation likely; foreign states often ignore these suits. (3) Inability or difficulty collecting on the judgment; must fall under an exception to the immunity from attachment or execution set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1610. (4) May be ruled unconstitutional. *Martinez v. Republic of Cuba,* 149 F. Supp. 3d 469, 476 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

2. Theory 2 Anti-Terrorism Act 18 U.S.C. § 2333

2.1. **Provides a civil right of action for injuries arising from an act of international terrorism. 18 U.S.C. § 2333(a).**

2.2. **Possible Plaintiffs.** Any U.S. national (his person, property, business, estate, survivors, or heirs) injured by reason of an act of international terrorism.

2.3. **Possible Defendants.** Organizations designated as a foreign terrorist organization (primary liability) or any person/entity who aids and abets or conspires with said terrorist group (secondary liability).

2.4. **Recoverable Damages.**

2.4.1. Threefold the damages sustained and the costs of the suit, including attorney's fees.

2.4.2. Plaintiff may use assets of the defendant that have been blocked or seized by the U.S. in order to satisfy the judgment.

2.5. **Venue.** Typical venue rules apply (any district court where any plaintiff resides or any defendant resides, is served, or has an agent). Most cases brought in D.C. district court.

2.6. **Jurisdiction.** Typical personal jurisdiction rules. Consent to jurisdiction provision ruled unconstitutional by the Second Circuit. *Waldman v. Palestine Liberation Org.,* 82 F.4th 64, 73–74 (2d Cir. 2023)

2.6.1. (1) Each of the primary liability elements are satisfied (but no requirement of a primary liability defendant in order to assert secondary liability).

2.7. **Primary Liability Elements.**

2.7.1. (1) Act of international terrorism. (2) The act was committed, planned, or authorized by a designated terrorist group. (3) As of the date the act was committed, planned, or authorized, the terrorist group was designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

2.8. **Secondary Liability Elements (aiding and abetting).** Requires an affirmative action in furtherance of the terrorist act by *knowingly providing substantial assistance* to the terrorist group.

2.8.1. (1) Each of the primary liability elements are satisfied (but no requirement of a primary liability defendant in order to assert secondary liability).

2.8.2. (2) General awareness of its role in the act of terrorism at the time of providing the assistance.

2.8.3. (3) Knowing assistance of the terrorist act.

2.8.3.1. Seventh Circuit has held that criminal recklessness (i.e., disregarding a risk of harm of which he is aware), satisfies this requirement, but not civil recklessness (i.e., gross negligence or acting in the face of an unreasonable risk that defendant should have been aware of, even if he wasn't).

2.8.4. (4) Substantial assistance of the terrorist act; court must weigh the six *Halberstam* (aiding and abetting) factors:

2.8.4.1. (a) nature of the act assisted; (b) amount of assistance provided; (c) whether defendant present at time of principal tort; (d) defendant's relation to the tortious actor; (e) defendant's state of mind; and (f) duration of the assistance given. *Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh,* 598 U.S. 471, 478 (2023).

2.9. **Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh, 598 U.S. 471, 478 (2023)**

2.9.1. **Issue.** Did Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook knowingly provide substantial assistance to ISIS when it failed to scan, find, and stop ISIS accounts from recruiting new members and spreading propaganda? **Holding.** No. This is mere passive activity, rather than an affirmative action. The creation of media platforms and recommendation algorithoms is not inherently a culpable action taken in furtherance of bringing about any type of terrorist attack, let alone the specific attack at issue.

2.10. **Pitfalls.**

2.10.1. (1) Identifying plaintiff(s).

2.10.2. (2) Identifying defendant(s) and establishing personal jurisdiction.

2.10.2.1. Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group and its subsidiaries are Iranian companies that produce its ballistic missiles. They are currently subject to sanctions in the U.S. and, as of July 2024, are blocked and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

2.10.2.2. **DOJ often posts asset seizures.** February 2, 2024, press release by the DOJ: In the Southern District of New York, seven defendants are charged with terrorism, sanctions-evasion, fraud, and money laundering offenses in connection with their trafficking and selling of Iranian oil to government-affiliated buyers in China, Russia, and Syria, in order to finance the IRGC-QF. Additionally, the United States seized $108 million used as part of these defendants’ scheme to fund the IRGC-QF. “Iran utilizes the proceeds of its black-market oil sales to fund its criminal activities, including its support of the IRGC, Hamas, Hizballah, and other Iranian aligned terrorist groups,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department is targeting this funding source by seizing over $108 million and 500,000 barrels of fuel that would otherwise have enabled Iran to further its destabilizing activities that threaten our national security.