Iranian parliament to study seizure of Alavi Foundation skyscraper in US

Tehran, Iran, April 18

By Milad Fashtami - Trend:

Iranian parliament (Majlis) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in its next meeting will study Washington's seizure of Alavi Foundation skyscraper in Manhattan.

Mansour Haqaiqatpour said that the move contradicts with agreements reached between Iran and the P5+1 group in Geneva.

"Deception is the essence of Americans' being," he said.

Reuters reported on April 18 that the U.S. government has agreed to distribute proceeds from the sale of a Manhattan skyscraper linked to Iran to families who were affected by attacks aided by the Islamic republic, according to a court document filed Thursday.

The settlement between the Department of Justice and the families marks the latest step in a long-running case over ties between the Manhattan building at 650 Fifth Avenue and Iran.

The skyscraper was majority owned by the Alavi Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes Islamic culture and the Persian language. The 36-story, 382,500 square-foot building stands at the corner of Fifth Avenue and West 52nd Street, near Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

In a 2009 lawsuit, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office claimed the Alavi Foundation was controlled by Iran. It also said two minority owners, Assa Corp and Assa Co Ltd, were shell companies backed by Iran's Melli Bank.

Last year, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan federal court ruled that the owners were deliberately "shielding and concealing Iranian assets," in violation of U.S. law, and that the skyscraper was subject to government forfeiture.

In March, Forrest ruled that a group of private plaintiffs, who won court judgements that they were victims of or affected by attacks aided by Iran and who had filed claims against the building, were entitled to take control of the skyscraper and other properties owned by the defendants. Plaintiffs include families of those killed in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 241 military personnel.

In her rulings, Forrest did not address whether the government or the private plaintiffs had priority over the properties. The settlement gives the plaintiffs priority.

The building generated close to $39 million in rental income from 1999 through 2007, according to the government's lawsuit.

According to the settlement, the government will recoup litigation and sales costs of any of the properties forfeited and subsequently sold by the U.S. Marshals Service.

The rest of the proceeds will be distributed to the plaintiffs at a rate based on the unpaid damages awards they won in court judgements.