Iranian bank associated with terror once rented offices from Donald Trump
Bank Melli stayed in Trump's building until 2003, four years after the US Treasury Department had already designated the bank as Iranian government controlled.
By JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: OCTOBER 4, 2016 11:41Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at a Capitol Hill rally to "Stop the Iran Nuclear Deal" in Washington, September 9, 2015(photo credit: REUTERS)
In 1998, when Donald Trump purchased the General Motors Building in Manhattan, one of the tenants was Bank Melli, an Iranian bank controlled by the state and linked by the US to terrorist groups as well as Iran's nuclear program, NBC news reported Monday.The report was commissioned by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.Bank Melli stayed in the building until 2003, four years after the US Treasury Department had already designated the bank as Iranian government controlled.From 2002 to 2006, Bank Melli was allegedly funneling money to the Iranian Revolutionary guard, specifically to a unit sponsoring terror attacks, while parts of the bank were still renting form Trump.According to the report, Trump may have been receiving half a million in rent money from the bank yearly.It remains unclear if any legal repercussions will stem from the arrangement.The US had embargoed most business with Iran, yet not all Iranian organizations are under the sanction.The report stated that the Treasury Department did not disclose to the public what businesses were allowed. They also declined to answer weather a license had been issued to Trump or the bank. The Trump campaign as well as Bank Melli both declined to comment on the issue.It was also reported that the ICIJ attempted to contact Bank Melli at their offices in Tehran as well as in London and Paris, again failing to elicit a response.The bank was banned from transactions in the US, though could have stayed in New York hoping the ban would be reversed.
In the US presidential election, Trump has repeatedly criticized the Iranian nuclear deal, signed with world powers over a year ago, even claiming that Iran would become a "world power" due to it.However, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization stated that Trump wining the election would not effect the deal.