Reuters:

Lawyers for the United States on Monday urged jurors to allow the U.S. government to seize a Manhattan office tower from a non-profit for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

In closing arguments at the end of a month-long trial in Manhattan federal court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Lockard told jurors that the non-profit Alavi Foundation, the building's majority owner, knew its minority partner, Assa Corp, was a front for Iran's government and helped hide that fact.

"They knew that when that secret got out, they stood to lose everything," he said.

The government wants to seize the 36-story building at 650 Fifth Avenue, likely worth close to $1 billion, to benefit people with judgments against Iran relating to bombings and other attacks.

John Gleeson, arguing for Alavi, did not dispute that Alavi knew Assa was owned by Iran's state-controlled Bank Melli when it entered into a partnership with it in 1989.

But he said the foundation, established in the 1970s by the Shah of Iran to promote Persian and Islamic culture in the United States, was led to believe that Assa was sold before 1995, and was misled when it tried to learn more.

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