Swiss Court Orders Israel to Pay Iran Billion-Dollar Award in Oil Pipeline Dispute (May 20, 2015) [1]
On May 20, 2015, a Swiss Court ordered an Israeli oil company, the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company, to pay Iran $1.1 billion in compensation regarding the revenues from an oil pipeline that began as a joint venture between the states before the Islamic Revolution. According to a news article [3], the project was begun in 1968 as a means for selling Iranian oil to Europe via Israel, but the “jointly-owned pipeline was effectively nationalized by Israel after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after which Iran turned from being Israel’s ally to its enemy, and Iran's assets were expropriated.” Israel has argued [4] “that it was Iran that broke the agreement. Iran also alleged that it had not received payment for the crude oil supplied to Israel before the revolution.” After the judgment, Israel stated that it will not pay the debt to Iran.