TEHRAN - Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary of the High Council for Human Rights in Iran, said on Thursday that Iran does not recognize the verdict of what he called a “kangaroo court” of the U.S. which calls on Tehran to pay a large amount of money to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

“It is totally obvious that the U.S. administration’s propaganda machine seeks to brand Iran as a terrorist,” Larijani said in a televised interview.

A New York federal judge issued a ruling on Tuesday ordering Iran to pay billions of dollars to the families of those killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The decision ignored the fact that the special investigation commission known as the 9/11 Commission Report had not previously established direct evidence of Iran’s involvement in the terrorist act.

Larijani said the U.S. court has condemned Iran without evidence.

“Iran can change the course that the [U.S.] court has taken by demanding appeal court, because the September 11 commission has investigated the issue and has announced that Iran had no role in the incident,” the human rights chief explained.

Elsewhere, Larijani said that the U.S. administration should not be allowed to play with the public opinion.

The Harvard-educated mathematician said that Iran has made many advances in various fields which cannot be tolerated by the U.S. and this has deepened animosity towards the Islamic Republic.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Tuesday that Iran preserves the right to battle the U.S. court’s verdict.

“The issue of such illegal rulings are in stark violation of the international commitments, law and accepted procedures which call for judicial immunity of the governments,” Press TV quoted him as saying.

NA/PA