UANI

"Turkey's largest mobile phone operator, Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetlera AS (TKC), Thursday said it has filed a suit against South Africa's MTN Group Ltd. in the U.S., seeking damages related to the award of a license in Iran.  Turkcell alleges the South African company encouraged Pretoria to support Iran's nuclear power development program in 2005, and it claims MTN made improper payments to an Iranian and to a South African government official between 2004 and 2005 to enable the company to secure a license to operate in Iran... The allegations come as MTN's Iranian operation is the target of a U.S. lobby group, which is seeking to persuade foreign businesses to leave Iran. United Against Nuclear Iran in January sent a letter to MTN Chief Executive Sifiso Dabengwa calling for the company to pull out of the country, alleging MTN's technology is being used by Iran's government to locate and track mobile phone users." (Nasdaq, "Turkcell Files Suit Against MTN In US Courts," 3/28/12)

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The Guardian Council, comprising six Islamic clerics and six lay jurists, has in effect become an upper house of parliament. The council can vet all legislation passed by the Majlis and veto any laws that it judges do not comply with Islamic law or Irans constitution. Its influence was most apparent in 2004 and 2005 when it ratified legislation giving the Majlis retroactive veto power over two major foreign investment contracts, those of Turkcell (Turkey) and Tepe-Akfen-Vie (a joint Austrian-Turkish consortium). (Economist Intelligence Units Country Commerce Select, The operating environment: Political conditions, March 19, 2008)

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Listed by U.S. Government as doing business in Iran. (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "List of Companies Doing Business With State Sponsors Of Terror", Removed from the internet in July of 2007)