William Cummings

USA TODAY

One of the tenants of Republican nominee Donald Trump's real estate company was an Iranian bank that U.S. authorities have tied to terrorist activity and Iran's nuclear program, according to a report Monday from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Center for Public Integrity.

Bank Melli was an existing tenant in the General Motors building when Trump bought the Manhattan office tower in 1998 and continued to rent the space until 2003, according to the ICIJ report.

In 1999, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Bank Melli as being "owned or controlled by the government of Iran." According to a Treasury Department fact sheet, between 2002 and 2006 — a period that includes time as one of Trump's tenants — the bank sent at least $100 million to a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that supports terrorist organizations including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Afghan Taliban.

In 2007, when the bank was no longer a Trump tenant, U.S. authorities froze its assets under the existing sanctions for its alleged support of terrorist activities and for acting as a "financial conduit" in the purchase of "sensitive materials for Iran's nuclear and missile programs."

The Treasury Department granted some Iranian organizations licenses that permitted certain transactions despite the sanctions. It is unclear if Bank Melli possessed such a license at the time it was paying rent to the Trump Organization.

In the wake of the ICIJ report, the Clinton campaign criticized Trump for his "hypocrisy on Iran."

"As with Cuba, he talks a big game, but when it comes to making a buck, he'll deal with anyone," Clinton adviser Jake Sullivan, said in in a statement. "The conflicts of interest presented by Trump’s business and his own desire to boost his bottom line above all else demonstrate clearly why voters should know more about Trump’s business deals and what they mean for how he’ll govern.”

Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in an email to the ICIJ that there would be no such conflicts of interest in a Trump administration.

“Mr. Trump’s sole focus is and will be on making our country great again,” Hicks said. “He has already committed to putting his assets in a blind trust and will have no involvement whatsoever in the Trump Organization.”

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