WASHINGTON — A delegation of more than 100 victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism and their families gathered in Washington this week to urge President Trump to demand Iran pay restitution as part of any potential peace deal.

The group American Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism United wrote a letter to Trump outlining their position. "American victims have been entirely absent from the public and reported negotiating framework," the letter stated.

The document specified conditions for any diplomatic resolution. "Our request is clear and grounded in longstanding U.S. policy: no agreement, interim or long-term, should release, transfer, unfreeze, or return Iranian assets, or lift or relieve sanctions, before the outstanding terrorism judgments owed to American victims are resolved," the letter stated.

Angela Mistrulli spearheaded the two-day gathering in Washington. She stated the letter speaks for a coalition of more than 20,000 American victims directly affected by Iran-backed terrorism.

Mistrulli plans to deliver the letter to the president in a meeting at the White House scheduled for Tuesday. Her husband, Joseph Mistrulli, was killed while working at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

"If we can bankrupt terrorists, then there will be less American blood spilled," Mistrulli said. "There should not be any funds returned to the terrorism regime."

The delegation includes individuals who have successfully sued the Islamic Republic in U.S. federal court for tens of billions of dollars in damages. These damages relate to Iran's role in orchestrating, financing, or providing material support for terror attacks, including the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing and suicide bombings in Israel.

The 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing killed 241 U.S. service members. Iran has been ordered to pay the most of any country since Congress passed a law allowing terror victims to sue U.S.-designated state sponsors of terrorism.

A federal judge found Iran liable for the 9/11 attacks in 2018, stating it provided assistance to the hijackers. A U.S. District Court in Washington awarded $573 million to plaintiffs representing American service members killed or injured by Iranian-supported insurgencies in Iraq from 2003 to 2015.

A current pending case focuses on Iran's alleged role in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas is one of a number of militant groups in the region backed by Iran.

Iran and other regimes like Syria and North Korea have been ordered to pay up to $156 billion in judgments dating back to the 1990s. Congress created the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund to provide partial compensation to eligible victims using money from qualifying federal penalties, forfeitures, and other congressionally authorized sources.

More than $10 billion has been paid out from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund since its inception in 2015. The amount paid out from the fund is less than 10% of what has been awarded in terrorism cases.

Aryeh Portnoy is an attorney who has represented thousands of victims in terrorism cases. He is currently litigating on behalf of Oct. 7 victims.

"There has been some relief," Portnoy said. "But even those in the fund that have been in it the longest and have received the most from it have only received pennies on the dollars of their judgments."

Portnoy cited limited enforcement, legal disputes, and chronic underfunding as reasons for the shortfall in compensation. "So there's more work that needs to be done, but it can be done," he said.

Trump and Iran's leaders signed a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding on June 17. Vice President JD Vance negotiated the Memorandum of Understanding in large part.

The agreement offered Iran the prospect of receiving hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen assets and sanctions relief. The terms included Iran opening maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and eliminating any nuclear threat.

The U.S. resumed military strikes on Iran more than a week ago. This action occurred as the diplomatic framework remained under discussion.