ICYMI: UANI Iran Business Risk Campaign Featured in Pan-Arab Daily Al-Hayat


For Immediate Release
May 16. 2016
Contact: [email protected]

ICYMI: UANI Iran Business Risk Campaign Featured in Pan-Arab Daily Al-Hayat 
Politico, CNN International, and Wall Street Journal Also Highlight UANI Activities to Dissuade Iran Business

New York, NY - The United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) international campaign to highlight the multiple risks of doing business in Iran was featured on the front page of the May 12 edition of the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat.  

The article includes interviews with UANI Chairman Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman and Advisory Board Member Giulio Terzi, former Foreign Minister of Italy. A full translation of the article can be found below.

On the same day, UANI activities were highlighted by the Wall Street Journal, Politico, and CNN International. In response to Secretary of State John Kerry's mission to London this past week to encourage European banks to facilitate Iran business, the Wall Street Journal and Politico quoted UANI Chairman Sen. Lieberman and CEO Amb. Mark D. Wallace: "Just because Iran is broadcasting that it is open for business does not mean it is smart or legal business."

On CNN International, UANI President David Ibsen was interviewed about UANI's campaign and detailed the reasons why business with Iran is risky business.


US campaign to stop Western investment in Iran

By Joyce Karam
Al-Hayat
May 12, 2016

An American group comprised of former officials and lawmakers from the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as European figures launched a huge media campaign warning international companies of the economic and political risks in investing Iran, which is still under banking sanctions, and other terrorism-related measures. This comes about a year after reaching a nuclear deal with the world powers.

The New York-based United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) group, with branches in Europe, launched the campaign across the US and international press, and through private letters sent to 140 global companies, including General Electric, Bombardier, Maersk and Siemens. The letter explains the legal, economic and political risks of investment in Iran. This is especially true since last fall when -Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi was arrested in addition to Lebanese IT expert Nizar Zakka. The campaign will continue for months, and will feature the most prominent economic entities in New York, Brussels and London.

The chairman of the group, former US Senator Joseph Lieberman, speaking to al-Hayat explained the goal of the campaign is to highlight that the nuclear agreement "is not automatically translated into investing in Iran, and it does not mean that (Iran's) markets are open and that there is a bonanza" in the country.

Lieberman, who was the candidate for vice president during the campaign of Democrat Al Gore against former Republican President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, emphasized that "the nuclear deal is not transformational." He added: "The Iranian regime's activities, which threaten the United States and the region, have not changed, but intensified after the nuclear deal, from Syria to Iraq and Yemen, through its support of (Syrian President Bashar) al-Assad's regime, (Lebanese) Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen."

He said that "there are ongoing banking sanctions on Iran, and other (sanctions) affecting the Revolutionary Guards. There is also the 'Patriot Act' Law, which was approved by the United States after the September 11th attacks (in September 2001)." He went on saying: "Any dealings with Revolutionary Guard associated companies will create problems in the West."

Analyst Ken Sofer from the Center for American Progress told al-Hayat that in Iran there is a "considerable consumer base alluring American and European investors," adding: "there are major risks for investors, because of the wide role of the government in the Iranian economy, the lack of transparency and the lack of an independent legal system to protect the investor." He said that 264 individuals and organizations in Iran are subject to US sanctions, warning that any investor entering the market should "avoid their tangled weaves" and "[may] face punitive actions."

The UANI Group's campaign is based on presenting the risks to the European investor. Thus, representatives of the group attended the recently held Europe-Iran Forum in Zurich. Giulio Terzi, ex-Italian Foreign Minister, an official in UANI, participated in the conference, and said that "the European side is showing greater cautiousness about investing in Iran than it was after the (conclusion of the) agreement" in July last year. He told al-Hayat: "No one can deal with Iran as a full partner, when it is conducting missile tests and supporting armed militias in the region. It is also subject to US sanctions as well as Gulf Cooperation Council sanctions." He cautioned that Iran is not China or Cuba, pointing to "a lot of problems in its regime and its economy, most notably the complex role of the Revolutionary Guards" in vital sectors.

The group is trying to link the path of economic openness towards Tehran with political and regional tracks. Sofer claimed that "the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei needs to choose between the promotion of investment and strengthening the arm of the Revolutionary Guards in the economy." He believes that Tehran needs structural and legal reforms to become more attractive to investors.

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About UANI
UANI is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan, advocacy group founded in 2008 by Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, former CIA Director Jim Woolsey, and Middle East Expert Ambassador Dennis Ross, that seeks to heighten awareness of the danger the Iranian regime poses to the world.