[yucky]

When a US company acts in the interests or even as a proxy for the US government, can they still claim to be a private company when it comes to the rules they must follow?

It seems like even though Iran is Iran, once you act as an extension of the US government you should be open to the same standards of accountability. Otherwise, our government will just continue to outsource around their mandated oversight (for instance, see how the CIA uses foundations like the National Endowment for Democracy to accomplish this).