A judiciary spokesman rejected a report about the auction of former US Embassy in Tehran for paying compensation to an Iranian citizen.

Alireza Jamshidi also told Fars News Agency, ?After an Iranian businessman filed a $500 mln petition against the US government about his abduction, Branch III of Tehran Public Court voted in his favor.?

He, however, noted that the court did not have any knowledge about the building number submitted by the businessman to the court and since the sale of a diplomatic building is against the Vienna Convention, the court rejected the petition.

Earlier, some foreign news agencies reported that an Iranian businessman, who was awarded damages over a US sting operation 15 years ago, said on Friday the American Embassy compound in Tehran has been effectively seized to pay his compensation.

In the first such lawsuit by an Iranian against Washington, Cyprus-based Hossein Alikhani was awarded $550 mln by a Tehran court in 2003 for what he says was a 130-day ordeal after he was kidnapped by US agents.

He said the lengthy legal process resulted in the Tehran court blocking any sale or purchase of the embassy land because of its pending auction.

?The property has been blocked in my name as the court has decided to auction the property and hand over the proceeds to me,? Alikhani said.

A US State Department spokeswoman quoted by British newspaper The Times in its online edition on Friday said it had not been informed of the new development. ?We expect the government of Iran to…ensure that the reported threatened sale of the mission premises does not take place,? she told the daily.

Posted: 04|17|07 at 2:25 pm. Filed under: Auction News.