A U.S. foundation that the government has labeled a “front” for the government of Iran donated $30,000 to former president Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation, according to public records. The contribution, from the Alavi Foundation, is recorded on page 65 of this 2006 tax return filed by the organization with the Internal Revenue Service. In a court filing yesterday in New York, the Justice Department moved to seize properties around the country, including land occupied by mosques, that the Alavi Foundation owns, asserting that it was violating U.S. sanctions restricting trade with Iran. The foundation’s lawyer told The New York Times that it had been cooperating with the government since the beginning of the investigation. He added that the foundation was disappointed by yesterday’s legal move, and that it ultimately expects to win in court.

Matt McKenna, a spokesman for both the former president and the William J. Clinton Foundation, which focuses on public health, climate change, and economic opportunity both domestically and internationally, said the Alavi Foundation donated the money to a tsunami relief fund set up by Clinton in 2005 and that the Clinton Foundation had no plans to return it in the wake of Thursday’s government action. He said neither Clinton nor the foundation had any comment on the government’s actions.