He spent six years as a hostage of Shi'a militiamen in Beirut, the longest period of captivity of any of the 18 US hostages kidnapped in the latter stages of the civil war in Lebanon.

Anderson was held longer than any other US hostage

Mr Anderson says he does not expect to gain financially from the lawsuit, although he says he is confident of winning.

But it is not Tehran but Washington which Mr Anderson considers the main hurdle.

"Much of our argument is likely to be with the US government rather than the Iranian government," he said. "The biggest obstacle to us receiving any money is the White House."

Terry Anderson explains why he is taking legal action now

Although the US has legislation to force federal agencies to assist plaintiffs recoup damages in cases like this, President Bill Clinton issued a blanket waiver against it last year.

Mr Anderson's Lebanese wife, Madeleine Bassil, and his daughter Sulome, are named in the suit to seek redress for emotional distress and separation.

Sulome, now 13, was born three months after Mr Anderson's capture in March 1985. He did not see her until after his release in December 1991.

'State sponsors'

Correspondents say Washington refuses to assist plaintiffs on the grounds that it causes complications in dealing with the other countries involved.

"If we don't file a suit," Mr Anderson explained, "whenever Iran and the United States settle accounts, we won't be sitting at the table."

Public pictures of Iran's leaders are common in Lebanon

Iran and Cuba, both countries the US accuses of being state sponsors of terrorism, have both had damages awarded against them in favour of US citizens.

Iran has denied it has any link with the Lebanese Shi'a Muslim group Hezbollah, which Mr Anderson says held him hostage.

Hezbollah, which occupies a number of seats in the Lebanese parliament, as well as fighting a guerrilla war against Israel in southern Lebanon, is often described by some correspondents as being "Iranian-backed".

Iran's UN ambassador, Seyed Mohammed Hosseinian, said last week there is "no shred of credible evidence" that Iran finances Hezbollah.

At the time of the kidnappings, the kidnappers demanded the release of 17 Shi'a extremists in Kuwait convicted of bombing the US and French embassies there.

Mr Anderson was bureau chief for the Associated Press news agency in Beirut. He now teaches journalism at Ohio University.