Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday the country had won a legal "victory" over $1.6 billion of its assets that had long been frozen on a US request in Luxembourg.

Tehran and Washington have long been arch enemies and tensions have risen sharply since President Donald Trump in 2018 withdrew from a nuclear accord and reimposed stinging sanctions.

In a separate dispute, a New York court in 2012 ordered Iran to pay $7 billion in damages over the September 11 attacks, arguing that it had aided Al-Qaeda by allowing its militants to travel through its territory.