Iranian Cash Went to Students, Bosnia Says
Bosnia’s ruling Muslim party confirmed Friday that it received $500,000 from Iran, but denied CIA allegations that the money went to President Alija Izetbegovic’s election campaign.
The money funded scholarships, paying for schooling for 1,265 students, the Party of Democratic Action said in a statement.
The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the CIA told Congress the money was earmarked for Izetbegovic’s 1996 election campaign. The report was confirmed by U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Izetbegovic’s party said the money had been collected through voluntary donations in Iran.
The Clinton administration has been attempting to limit links between Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Muslim-led government and Iran. Washington accuses Tehran of supporting terrorism and has sought to isolate it internationally. Yet the administration looked the other way when Iran shipped arms to Bosnian Muslims in 1994 in violation of a U.N. embargo.
The embargo covered all parties but hurt the Muslims the most, since the Serbian-led rump Yugoslavia supplied arms to Bosnian Serbs.
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