Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has been linked to an
Iranian lobby under federal investigation.

Hagel, who overcame severe opposition within Congress, was said to have
been supported by the Alavi Foundation, believed subsidized by the Teheran
regime. In 2007, Hagel, senator from 1997 until 2011, addressed a conference
at Rutgers University in an event in which Alavi was a sponsor.

“Alavi is an arm of the Teheran government that has granted substantial
sums to American and Canadian universities,” the Middle East Forum said.

In a report, the U.S. organization, based in Philadelphia, said Alavi,
with reported assets of nearly $40 million, distributed more than $2.1
million to universities in 2010. Report author Stephen Schwartz said Alavi funded Rutgers, including the Hagel appearance, with $72,500.

At his appearance at Rutgers, Hagel called on the United States to
launch “direct, unconditional and comprehensive talks with the government of Iran.” The address at Rutgers was also sponsored by the American Iranian Council, also deemed a lobbyist for Teheran.

Alavi was also said to have given Harvard University $345,000 from 2003 through 2011, the report said. In its filings to the Internal Revenue Service, Alavi reported a significant increase to Harvard — from $41,000 in
2009 to $75,000 in 2010 as well as the first quarter of 2011.

Alavi, linked to Iran’s state-owned Bank Melli, has been under
investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department. In 2009, former Alavi
president Farshid Jahedi, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony obstruction
of justice for destroying documents subpoenaed by the Treasury during the
previous year.

“In the Alavi case, which remains unresolved, the U.S. government also
sought to take over Iranian-controlled properties, including mosques and
schools, in New York, Maryland, Virginia, Texas, and California,” the report
said.

Schwartz, executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, said
Hagel has long been an “apologist” of the mullah regime in Teheran. He said
the new defense secretary has been a beneficiary of a powerful Iranian and
Islamist lobby that infiltrated leading U.S. universities.

“The controversy stirred up by Secretary Hagel’s history as an apologist
for the Iranian clerical rulers offers an opportunity — and obligation —
to explore in greater depth Iran’s infiltration of America’s Middle East
studies establishment from Harvard to Hartford and beyond,” the report said.

  Alavi Foundation, American Iranian Council, Center for Islamic Pluralism, Report: Hagel tied to Iran lobby investigated by Treasury Department