The latest "omnibus" spending bill will include the compensation of the 53 Americans who were held hostage in Iran for 444 days in 1979.
The Guardian reported that each of the former captives will be given $4.4 million, which is $10,000 for each day they were held hostage. The incident diminished Washington-Tehran relations, which has already been fraying that time since the Iranian revolution.
In a report by the New York Times, Rodney V. Sickmann, the Marine sergeant who guarded the United States Embassy in Iran that time, said, "I had to pull over to the side of the road, and I basically cried." He was captured along with the rest of the Americans in that place in November 4, 1979.
The massive spending bill that was approved Friday also compensated other victims of state-sponsored attacks, including the 1998 American Embassy bombing in East Africa.
BBC wrote that the money that will be given to the former hostages will come from the $9 billion fine that French bank Paribas has to pay for violating laws against Iran, Cuba, and Sudan. A billion dollars will go to victims of terrorism, while another $2.8 billion will be used to help the families of the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks.
The new spending bill brings closure to the stained relationship of America and Iran. The agreement that led to the release of the hostages back in 1981 is the same agreement that stopped them from getting restitution. Their claims were constantly blocked in courts, as well as the Supreme Court. Congress tried to pass a law to grant the hostages compensation in the past, but failed.
Some of the hostages went through physical and psychological torture. Many of the victims believe that the compensation is long overdue. Some though they have been forgotten, and were only remembered in Ben Affleck's movie "Argo."
It is not yet clear, however, whether all of the hostages and their family will get the $4.4 million in full. Initial payments will be given within one year.
© 2023 Lawyer Herald All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Get the Most Popular Lawyerherald Stories in a Weekly Newsletter
Join the Discussion
Related Articles
