UANI Applauds U.S. Senators Call for Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran and Calls for Implementation of Additional Iran Sanctions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2011
Contact: Nathan Carleton, [email protected]
Phone: (212) 554-3296      

UANI Applauds U.S. Senators Call for Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran and Calls for Implementation of Additional Iran Sanctions

New York, NY - On Wednesday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the 92 U.S. Senators who sent a letter to President Barack Obama calling for "crippling sanctions" on the Central Bank of Iran.

Said UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace:

We applaud these Senators for calling for sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran and encourage Congress to implement additional sanctions measures such as the Iran Transparency and Accountability Act, which would require companies to fully disclose their Iran business to investors and the public. The American people and their elected representatives are clearly behind the cause of economically isolating Iran from the rest of the world until it abandons its plans to become nuclear.

We also urge the administration to vigorously enforce existing sanctions measures including the certification provisions of CISADA, which require all companies that do business with the U.S. Government to certify they do not do sanctionable business with Iran.

State and municipal lawmakers should also implement measures barring companies that do business in Iran from receiving lucrative state and municipal contracts. By working together, the federal government, state governments, and the international community can effectively pressure the Iranian regime to change course.

This week, 92 members of the U.S. Senate wrote to President Obama urging the administration to sanction the Central Bank of Iran.

UANI has supported tougher sanctions against Iran since its founding in 2008. In June 2009, UANI proposed the Iran Business Certification Act (IBC Act), an unprecedented measure requiring companies that do business with the U.S. Government to certify they do not conduct business in Iran. It was ultimately incorporated into the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA), the most broad Iran sanctions to date.

UANI has also proposed unprecedented regulations and legislation for adoption by the SEC and U.S. Congress to require companies to fully disclose their Iran business to investors and the public. In February 2011, Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL), Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced the Iran Transparency and Accountability Act of 2011 which would require companies to disclose such business. These same regulations have also been included in the Iran Threat Reduction Act of 2011, introduced into Congress in May 2011.

UANI is also urging states and municipalities to pass UANI model legislation barring companies that do business in Iran from receiving state government contracts. As the Financial Times recently reported, the 2010 Iran Contracting Act of California has already succeeded in pressuring several multinational corporations to end their business in Iran. Florida recently passed similar legislation.

Click here to read the letter from 92 U.S. Senators calling for sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran.

Click here to see UANI's model legislation page.