UANI Applauds Fiat's Decision to End Certain Business in Iran

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 25, 2012
Contact: Nathan Carleton, [email protected]
Phone: (212) 554-3296

UANI Applauds Fiat's Decision to End Certain Business in Iran

New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement Friday regarding Fiat's announcement that "its subsidiaries will no longer carry out business activity related to products or components where the ultimate destination of such products is known to be Iran":

We applaud Fiat's decision to end certain parts of its business in Iran. We welcome this announcement, and are pleased that Fiat's subsidiary Iveco will no longer sell trucks to the Iranian regime, which has used them to transport ballistic missiles and perform gruesome public executions.

Nonetheless, we call on Fiat to now fully end all of its business in Iran, including the sale and manufacturing of all Fiat and Maserati vehicles. Only last month, it was reported that a Maserati showroom would soon be opening up in Tehran. Fiat should confirm that it is not--directly or indirectly--engaged in any business in Iran, providing any goods or services in Iran, or implementing any agreements with Iranian entities including the Pars Industrial Foundation.

Responsible auto companies are pulling out of Iran and Iran's important automotive industrial sector is now suffering dramatic year-over-year declines. More companies must follow this action, particularly Peugot and Nissan which are important actors in the Persian auto industry.

Fiat maintained an active presence in Iran. Fiat's subsidiary Iveco sold and distributed trucks in Iran that were used by the Iranian regime to transport ballistic missiles and stage gruesome public executions.

UANI's campaign against Fiat began in 2011, and included advertisements in New York newspapers [see additional ad here], and a protest at the New York International Auto Show.

UANI also ran a public campaign this year regarding Jennifer Lopez's endorsements of Fiat, and produced an online video, "J.Lo's "My World" Fiat Commercial: Parody," that generated more than 50,000 YouTube hits.

Last week, Ambassador Wallace testified about Iran's automotive industry before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. Ambassador Wallace called out Peugeot and its U.S. partner GM, stating that "Peugeot right now is a major actor in Iran, a major manufacturer inside Iran in direct partnership with the IRGC." In fact, while Peugeot says it suspended its business with Iran until July, Iran produced more than 15,000 Peugeot vehicles in April.

Ambassador Wallace also said that when it comes to Nissan, which was recently awarded New York City's $1 billion "Taxi of Tomorrow" contract, Americans "should be able to use the power of New York's pocketbook to impress upon Nissan to stop manufacturing automobiles in Iran."

Click here to visit UANI's "Auto Campaign" page.
Click here to read UANI's "DRIVE Act" legislation.

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