Hossein Alikhani was an Iranian NGO founder, political scientist, and author who was abducted in a sting operation by undercover United States Customs Service agents in 1992, and released after being held for 130 days.
Alikhani was seized in the Bahamas in 1992, accused of violating American sanctions against Libya, and held for 130 days.
As the United States refused to pay the money, Alikhani asked the court to put the American embassy in Tehran on sale.
[6][7] This was a symbolic victory for Alikhani considering that the sale has not taken place; the US embassy compound is still housed by Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Gary Sick, an Iran expert at Columbia University, says the U.S. made a mistake by allowing Americans to collect such large damages in these uncontested cases.