Latest development Aug 31, 2026
The plaintiffs filed a cert petition on the Afghan central bank reserves.
The award
- Amount awarded
- About $6B (not re-verified)
- Award holder
- Families and estates of September 11 victims (Havlish plaintiffs, MDL 03-md-1570)
- Respondent
- Islamic Republic of Iran (with the Taliban and al-Qaeda)
- Forum
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York · FSIA terrorism exception (§1605A) · default judgment
Challenges
Default judgment. Iran did not appear.
Enforcement
The plaintiffs sought $3.5B of reserves of Afghanistan’s central bank (Da Afghanistan Bank) held in New York. The court denied turnover on February 21, 2023. The Second Circuit affirmed on August 26, 2025, and denied rehearing en banc on March 19, 2026.
Recovered to date
Partial payments from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund only. The fund is financed from U.S. forfeitures, not by Iran.
Notes
A court judgment, not an arbitral award. The judgment amount was not re-verified.