Excerpt:
An Iranian-American group suspected of acting as Tehran's lobbying shop in Washington, D.C., was ordered to pay nearly $200,000 in "sanctions" April 9 after launching a failed defamation lawsuit against one of its chief critics.
The left-leaning National Iranian American Council (NIAC) was ordered earlier this month to pay $183,480 to the legal defense fund of Hassan Daioleslam, an Iranian-American writer who has accused NIAC of failing to disclose its clandestine lobbying efforts, which are believed to include efforts to roll back sanctions on Tehran.
NIAC, which describes itself as a nonprofit educational organization, sued Daioleslam in 2008, alleging he defamed the group by claiming NIAC has lobbied U.S. government officials on Tehran's behalf.