MTN, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, has failed to halt two terrorism-related lawsuits in the United States (US) after a federal judge rejected its latest bids to reopen earlier rulings and appeal immediately, clearing the way for discovery.
In publicly available court documents, US District Judge Carol Bagley Amon denied MTN’s requests for reconsideration and permission for an immediate appeal in Zobay v. MTN Group Limited and the related Long case. The decision means the two cases will move into discovery, where both sides can seek and exchange evidence.
The ruling keeps alive claims that MTN’s former operations in Iran and Afghanistan assisted entities allegedly linked to terrorist attacks, exposing the telecoms group to further litigation in the US. The court has not found MTN liable, and the allegations remain unproven. MTN says it expects the evidence to demonstrate that it was not a culpable participant in the attacks.
The case centres on allegations concerning MTN’s former telecommunications operations in Iran and Afghanistan. The plaintiffs claim, among other things, that MTN’s activities involving Irancell, Iran’s second-largest mobile operator, assisted entities they allege were connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The IRGC, which the US designated as a terrorist organisation in 2019, is central to the allegations, while the plaintiffs also claim that MTN’s operations in Afghanistan included shutting down cell towers at the Taliban’s request.
MTN maintains that the ruling does not determine whether the allegations against it are true. “The rulings are procedural and do not constitute a finding of wrongdoing or liability against MTN,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The court’s earlier decisions only found that certain claims could proceed past the motion-to-dismiss stage. MTN said US procedure meant it could not challenge the factual allegations against it at that point.
“In the next phases of the litigation, MTN will, for the first time, have an opportunity to produce and solicit evidence to disprove plaintiffs’ allegations,” the company said.
The allegations have not been proven, but Judge Amon’s September 25 order offers a detailed explanation of why she declined MTN’s request to revisit her earlier decisions.
What MTN faces
MTN had argued that a 2025 Second Circuit ruling in Ashley v. Deutsche Bank changed the legal standard for terrorism-related aiding-and-abetting claims. Amon disagreed, finding that the later decision did not warrant reconsideration of her earlier rulings.
The judge distinguished the allegations against MTN from cases involving companies that allegedly provided routine services to customers later linked to terrorist activity.
In the Iran claims, the court pointed to allegations that MTN entered a joint venture with entities plaintiffs say were linked to the IRGC, helped source US technology for Irancell and discussed circumventing US sanctions.
The court described the alleged conduct as going beyond simply providing ordinary commercial services.
One allegation concerns “embargoed dual-use technologies” and alleged operational or technical support provided through the Irancell relationship. The court also referred to allegations that MTN knew a portion of Irancell’s profits would flow to the IRGC.
For the Afghanistan claims, the court said plaintiffs had alleged that MTN shut down cell towers at the Taliban’s request, and that the shutdowns “substantially contributed” to attacks. The judge found the allegation sufficient for the case to proceed at this stage, but the plaintiffs will ultimately need to prove it.
MTN disputes the allegations and says it expects the evidence to show that it was not responsible for the attacks at issue.
“MTN has deep sympathy for those who have been injured or lost loved ones as a result of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. MTN continues to believe that the evidence will demonstrate that MTN was not a culpable participant in the attacks at issue. MTN will continue to defend the proceedings vigorously, consider all available legal options and update shareholders on material developments as appropriate,” the company said.
More than a legal problem
The litigation also comes as the telco continues to unwind its Middle East exposure, with Iran remaining a significant financial complication.
In its interim results for the six months ended June 30, MTN said the escalation of conflict in Iran had affected Irancell’s operational performance. The group recognised its attributable portion of a R3.9 billion ($238.4 million) impairment relating to Irancell’s assets.
MTN said sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank create a secondary-sanctions risk if foreign currency is allocated to an MTN entity to facilitate repayment of receivables or loans.
“Considering the continued uncertainty of when the sanctions will be lifted, the Group has classified about R2 billion ($122.3 million) of the outstanding receivables as non-current as the settlement is neither planned nor likely to occur in the foreseeable future,” MTN said in its interim results.
The company’s latest legal disclosure therefore sits alongside a broader business problem: MTN is trying to exit a region where its remaining Iranian exposure is affected by sanctions, geopolitical instability and now continuing US litigation.
For the Zobay and Long cases, however, the immediate next step is narrower.
Discovery will allow the parties to obtain and exchange evidence before potential summary judgment applications. If the parties do not seek summary judgment, or if such applications are denied, the litigation can proceed further.
MTN said there were no material updates on the separate Cabrera and Chand & Davis cases. The Cabrera case concerns allegations linked primarily to MTN’s former operations in Afghanistan, while the separate Chand and Davis cases involve allegations concerning the company’s investment in Iranian operator Irancell and attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. MTN disputes the allegations in both matters.
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