WASHINGTON (AP) -- A House panel is investigating whether a U.N. agency provided computers and other technology to Iran and North Korea in possible violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee announced that it was launching the probe on Monday. The U.N.'s World Intellectual Property Organization said last week that it provided "standard IT equipment" to the patent and trademark offices in the two countries, but none of the material violated sanctions.
The State Department said last week that it was reviewing the transfer of technology.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the committee chairwoman, called Iran and North Korea "thugs" and said providing them with sensitive technology has the "potential to enable their dangerous agendas."
Last month, the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Howard Berman, expressed similar concerns with Commerce Department officials.