Columbia U. Received Gifts From Foundation Accused of Iran Ties

A charitable organization accused last week by federal prosecutors of funneling money to Iran has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to American colleges, including Columbia, Harvard, Portland State, and Rutgers Universities, according to Monday’s New York Times. Columbia alone has received a total of $332,000 from the organization, the Alavi Foundation, a university spokesman told the Times. The money was used to finance classes in Persian language and culture.