Confiscated $2 billion could spell legal trouble for Ahmadinejad
After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to Barack Obama asking for the return of $2 billion, Hassan Rouhani asked the judiciary to investigate why the funds belonging to Iran were never pulled out of the United States.
![Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad is surrounded by his supporters during the funeral ceremony of Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi in Tehran Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C front) listens to his supporters during the funeral ceremony of Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi, who was killed in Saudi Arabia in a stampede at the haj pilgrimage, after Friday prayer in Tehran November 27, 2015. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX1W3E5](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2016/08/RTX1W3E5.jpg/RTX1W3E5.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=x4uu3cG8)
Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s personal letter to US President Barack Obama asking the American president to return $2 billion in Iranian funds blocked in the United States could become a legal headache for the former president, who some believe is eyeing a political comeback.
The Central Bank of Iran under Ahmadinejad’s presidency purchased the $2 billion of US bonds at a time when the country was facing off against the West over its nuclear program. The money was later confiscated and awarded to victims of terrorism by a US court, a decision that was upheld by the US Supreme Court in April.