Iowa Leads Coalition of States Urging Supreme Court to Free Afghan Assets for 9/11 Victims

Thirty U.S. states, led by Iowa, are urging the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that prevents victims of the September 11 attacks from accessing frozen assets in Afghanistan.

Thirty States Seek Access to Frozen Afghan Assets

In a significant legal move, thirty states of the United States—spearheaded by Iowa—have submitted a request to the Supreme Court to revoke a ruling that blocks the families of September 11 victims from accessing frozen funds held by the Afghanistan central bank. The plaintiffs in this case, who previously secured a $17 billion judgment against the Taliban, are now seeking to claim $3.5 billion of Afghanistan’s foreign currency reserves currently held in the United States.

These foreign reserves, totaling around $7 billion, were frozen by Washington after the collapse of the Afghan republic and the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. In February of the same year, then-President Joe Biden ordered that $3.5 billion from these assets be allocated to the claimants of the September 11 case, with the remaining funds set aside for humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people through mechanisms monitored by the U.S.

New York Judge’s Ruling and Affirmation by Appeals Court

However, in February 2022, U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels ruled that U.S. courts did not have the legal authority to seize these funds, as transferring the central bank’s reserves to the plaintiffs would effectively recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. This decision was upheld by the appellate court in September 2023, denying the plaintiffs access to the mentioned assets.

Currently, $3.5 billion of these assets are held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, while another $3.5 billion remains in the Afghan Trust Fund at the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland. The central bank of Afghanistan cannot access either of these funds. Moreover, no funds from the Swiss accounts have been disbursed thus far to aid in addressing the humanitarian crisis.

Urgent Humanitarian Assistance Needed in Afghanistan

This asset freeze comes at a time when the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that 21.9 million people, nearly 45% of Afghanistan’s population, urgently require humanitarian aid. The restriction on access to these assets has severely exacerbated the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, making immediate action necessary.