Banks Tied to 1983 Terror Attack Must Give Victims $1.68 Billion

Victims of the 1983 attack on a US Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, got closer to recovering their $1.68 billion judgment against Iran for sponsoring the attack, when a federal court ordered two financial institutions to turn over funds held for Iran.

Bank Markazi and Clearstream Banking SA said that the US District Court for the Southern District of New York didn’t have jurisdiction over them and that a statute amended by Congress to address the case was unconstitutional. But the opinion by Judge Loretta A. Preska rejected both arguments Wednesday.

Clearstream is a Luxembourg securities depository that has an ...