Feds Seize NYC Skyscraper Owned by Iran

Apparently a bunch of companies in midtown Manhattan had Iran for a landlord. The U.S. government seized a 36-story skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in what U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is calling the government’s largest terrorism-related forfeiture ever. The tower was built in the 1970s by a nonprofit organization operated by the shah, who was overthrown at the end of that decade. Prosecutors say that organization is secretly controlled by the company that owns a 40 percent stake in the building, which in turn is owned by the Iranian government. Bharara says the co-owners have been funneling rental income back to Iran, and that the U.S. government would pay proceeds from the seizure to victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism.