UANI Calls on Obama Administration and Congress to Enact Decisive Iran Sanctions

October 12, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 12, 2011

Contact: Nathan Carleton, [email protected]

Phone: (212) 554-3296

     

UANI Calls on Obama Administration and Congress to Enact Decisive Iran Sanctions


New York, NY - On Wednesday, following the revelation of Iran's terrorist plot against the U.S., United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) called on the Obama administration and Congress to enact decisive sanctions against the Iranian regime.

 

Said UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace:

 

Iran is by any definition a wartime enemy of the United States, as evidenced by their just-revealed plans to commit terrorist acts on our soil, their killing of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their alliance with al-Qaeda. As such, President Obama and U.S. policymakers should treat Iran as it would any other nation at war with the country, including sanctioning the Central Bank of Iran and passing the Iran Transparency and Accountability Act, which would require companies to fully disclose their Iran business to investors and the public. As Vice President Biden said today, Iran has to be "held accountable" for this planned terrorist act.

 

The Obama administration must also vigorously enforce existing sanctions measures, including the certification provisions of CISADA, which require companies that do business with the U.S. Government to certify they do not do sanctionable business with Iran. State and municipal lawmakers can also play a part, by following the lead of California and Florida and passing laws that bar companies that do business in Iran from receiving lucrative state and municipal contracts.

 

In August, 92 members of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to President Barack Obama calling for "crippling sanctions" on the Central Bank of Iran, an economic strategy UANI has called for.

 

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 reported, the 2010 Iran Contracting Act of California has succeeded in pressuring several multinational corporations to end their business in Iran. California recently published a list of companies that are barred from receiving state contracts due to their business in Iran.

 

Click here to see UANI's model legislation page.
 

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