UN court orders US to ease Iran sanctions
The Hague, Oct 3 : The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday ordered the US to lift sanctions linked to humanitarian trade, food, medicine and civil aviation imposed against Iran -- a move welcomed by Tehran.
Washington re-imposed sanctions on Iran after pulling out from the 2015 nuclear deal. Siding with Tehran, the ICJ said exports of "humanitarian" goods, such as food and medicines, should be allowed, the BBC reported.
US President Donald Trump moved to restore tough sanctions on Iran in May after announcing he was abandoning Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.
He said the deal had "failed to achieve the fundamental objective of blocking all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb" and did not deal with Tehran's "malign activities, including its ballistic missile programme and its support for terrorism".
Iran challenged the sanctions in a case filed in July at the court. It said that the sanctions violated the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights between the two countries, which grants the ICJ jurisdiction over disputes.
The deal was originally signed between Iran and China, France, Russia, the UK, the US plus Germany and the European Union, which aimed to halt the Islamic Republic's nuclear weapons programme in exchange for lifting of economic sanctions.
Announcing the decision on Wednesday, the ICJ's President Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf said: "The court considers that the US must remove, by means of its choosing, any impediment (...) to the free exportation to the territory of Iran of goods required for humanitarian needs."
Washington was ordered to remove sanctions that would affect Iran's civilian population, namely the ones restricting medicine and medical devices, food products and spare mechanical parts vital for infrastructure, such as spare parts for aviation maintenance.
However, the US argued that the court had no jurisdiction in the case as it concerned its national security.
Reacting to the top UN court's decision, Iranian Foreign Ministry said: "The verdict by the Hague-based ICJ against the US unilateral sanctions, following its withdrawal from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, proves Iran's righteousness and US' illegitimate and oppressive sanctions."
The rulings of the ICJ, the main judicial organ of the UN, are binding but the court has no power to enforce them. It settles legal disputes between member states. But both Washington and Tehran have in the past ignored the court's rulings.
Following the announcement, US Ambassador to the Netherlands, Pete Hoekstra, called it a meritless case over which the court has no jurisdiction".
Iran's economy has slumped since Trump ordered that sanctions be reinstated. Its currency, the rial, has dropped sharply.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iran's adherence to the nuclear pact, had found that Tehran fully complied with the agreement.
The court's decision could encourage European companies, which ceased trading with Iran for fear of falling foul of Trump, to reconsider their position, specifically those dealing in the humanitarian items outlined by the judges, the report said.
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Commercial LPG hike: Delhi restaurant owners warn of higher menu rates, job losses
New Delhi (PTI) A day after a 50 per cent rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, Delhi's food business, with restaurant owners and street vendors have warned of higher menu rates, financial strain and potential job losses if the trend persists.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by a steep Rs 993 per 19 kg cylinder, marking the third consecutive monthly hike amid rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
For many in the restaurant industry, the spike has been both sudden and steep.
Manpreet Singh, honorary treasurer of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that eateries are already grappling with supply challenges alongside rising costs.
"There is a huge difficulty in getting these cylinders, and black marketing is also increasing in many unregulated sectors," he said, noting that prices that were once around Rs 1,600, often dropping to nearly Rs 1,300 with discounts, have now surged to between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per cylinder.
He further added that a medium-sized restaurant typically uses between two and five cylinders daily, making the increase particularly burdensome as costs mount.
Singh further said that as costs mount, smaller establishments could struggle to stay afloat. Instead, the association has advised restaurants to shift towards piped natural gas connections through Indraprastha Gas Limited as a more sustainable alternative.
"If this problem continues, PNG is the only long-term solution," he said, adding that temporary measures like coal offer limited relief due to slower cooking times and that it can largely be used only for tandoors.
Echoing similar concerns, Kabir Suri, owner of Mamagoto in Khan Market, said the impact is already visible across the industry. "There has been almost a threefold increase in cylinder prices for restaurants," he said, adding that rising fuel and logistics costs are compounding the pressure.
"If this continues, it will become a significant financial burden, and food prices will inevitably go up. Adding to this burden, higher fuel costs are also affecting logistics and transportation, making a price rise unavoidable. The extent of the impact will vary between small eateries and large chains depending on their scale," he said.
Global oil prices have surged nearly 50 per cent following disruptions in energy supply chains due to the West Asia conflict, pushing up commercial fuel costs and transport expenses.
A West Delhi-based restaurateur said they are trying to manage rising costs while keeping their staff secure. "We are trying to ensure that our staff, from kitchen workers to waiters, are paid on time and do not face immediate hardship," the owner said.
"We are a small restaurant with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time. But if this continues for long, we will have to take difficult calls. There is only so much we can absorb, and menu prices will have to go up. We hope this does not continue for a longer period," he said.
Another restaurant owner in North Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said operational adjustments alone may not be enough. "We are checking our costs very carefully and trying to cut wherever possible, but if fuel prices remain high, it will eventually affect how we run the business," the owner said.
"Coal helps in tandoor cooking, but it takes more time," the owner further added.
The strain is even more acute among street vendors, many of whom operate on thin margins. A vendor in Saket said he had recently expanded his business, moving from a mobile cart to a rented outlet.
"I have a family to feed and more responsibilities now. Earlier, I managed with a moving cart, but after renting the place, expenses increased," he said. "Whenever cylinders were unavailable, I had to buy them at higher rates in the black market. Now even regular supply is too expensive, and if this continues, we may have to shut down," he added.
In Laxmi Nagar, another vendor said they are struggling to keep the business running. "Sometimes we even used domestic cylinders from home when supply ran out because we had to keep the stall running," he said, adding that rising costs leave little choice but to increase prices or bear losses.
On April 1, the rates of commercial LPG cylinders were hiked by Rs 195.50 per cylinder, followed by a Rs 114.5 hike on March 1, taking the total increase over the past three months to Rs 1,303. With the latest revision, a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 3,371.5 in Delhi, up from Rs 2,078.5 earlier.
The prices of domestic LPG cylinders used for household cooking have remained unchanged. They were last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2 kg cylinder on March 7 and currently cost Rs 913 in Delhi.
