Iraq: Iraqi National Congress Funding for Office in Iran

Question:   Was U.S. Department of State money used to open a representative office in Iran? Was this use of U.S. funds permissible?

Answer:   In the support of the U.S. government's regime change strategy for Iraq, the Iraqi National Congress proposed a strategy of opening representative offices in key regional locales to facilitate their outreach and informational efforts.

The Iraqi National Congress identified Tehran as a key office that would permit them access to Iraqis present inside Iran. Consistent with U.S. requirements regarding expenditure of grant money, the Iraqi National Congress secured necessary licenses from the Office of Foreign Asset Control as early as 2001 to spend U.S. government grant funds inside Iran as a specific activity within their overall grant.

For any further comment on this process, I would refer you to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Controls.

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