UANI Issues Statement on MTN's Talks with the U.S. Government to Repatriate Iran Profits, Calls for Sanctions on MTN Irancell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 8, 2012

Contact: Nathan Carleton, [email protected]

Phone: (212) 554-3296  

UANI Issues Statement on MTN's Talks with the U.S. Government to Repatriate Iran Profits, Calls for Sanctions on MTN Irancell

New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement Wednesday following reports that South African telecom giant MTN is in discussions with the U.S. government regarding its inability to transfer its Iran profits out of the country:

It is of no surprise that MTN is having difficulties moving its profits out of Iran, given the international banking blockade emerging against the regime that MTN has chosen to ignore. For MTN, its problems are only being compounded by Iran's ongoing currency collapse, which MTN's chief financial officer concedes will have "a severe impact on second-half earnings."

Any company that does business in Iran is exposing itself to serious financial risks and difficulties, given the international community's attempts to isolate the regime. Businesses around the world are taking note of MTN's current struggles.

The U.S. government absolutely must not help MTN--a direct partner of the Iranian regime--find a way to circumvent the international banking blockade against Iran. We call on the Obama administration to immediately sanction MTN Irancell (of which the Iranian regime owns 51% and MTN 49%) under existing U.S. sanctions law, given MTN's well-established and prominent role in the Iranian regime's brutal campaign of oppression. That MTN's illegitimately-earned profits remain stuck in Iran is certainly not a problem the U.S. government should be responsible for solving.

It is time for MTN to end this constant stream of reputational and fiduciary harm, by ending its irresponsible partnership with the Iranian regime. Outrageously, MTN has worked directly with the Iranian regime to silence, track, and apprehend innocent Iranians, and engaged in highly inappropriate corruption. MTN has continued to show no understanding of the severity of the human rights situation in Iran, or any remorse over the regime's use of its technology. If MTN is content with what is going on in Iran today, then it clearly has no standards whatsoever for where or with whom it will do business.

Click here to read UANI's February 29 letter to MTN.

Click here to read UANI's January 25 letter to MTN.

Click here and here to see UANI's MTN advertisements.

Click here to send a message to MTN.