WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to hear argument on whether former U.S. hostages in Iran can sue that government despite an accord barring such suits.
The high court action leaves in place a lower court ruling dismissing the former hostages' suit.
The hostages were taken at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held for 444 days. Hundreds of students swarmed over the walls of the embassy, taking control of the facility with the complicity of the Iranian government and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Many of the hostages were dispersed to Iranian prisons. The hostages were held until Jan. 20, 1977, and only released after President Jimmy Carter left office.
A federal judge dismissed a suit brought by several former hostages on behalf of all those held, saying a federal law which allowed a claim against foreign agents did not allow a claim against a foreign government.
