Skip to main content
As Iran this month celebrates the 30th anniversary of its 1979 Islamic revolution, federal authorities in Portland remain mum on the reasons they raided Oregon's largest Iranian charity last summer.
Navid Sehedali, a member of the board of Child Foundation, says he still has no idea why FBI agents seized computers and fax machines in a July 15 raid on the charity's downtown Portland office. The feds have not given an explanation or sought any additional information from the charity, Sehedali says.
"In a sense, we're saying no news is good news," he says.
As previously reported in WW, the charity's mission is to assist children in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries. But the feds have tight restrictions on providing assistance to Iran, ruled for three decades by a hardline Islamic government.
Besides affecting the Child Foundation, the raid was troubling for Portland's Iranian community — many of whom fled their homeland after the U.S.-backed Shah was overthrown in 1979.
Gerri Badden, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland, has not yet returned a phone call seeking comment declined to comment.
WWeek 2015