UANI Statement On Application Of Secondary Sanctions Related To NIOC

New York, NY – United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) Chairman Senator Joseph Lieberman and CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace released the following joint statement today in response to the Trump administration’s application of secondary sanctions against companies supporting Iran’s state-owned National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) and their exports of petrochemicals and petroleum products. According to the U.S. government, NIOC helps to finance Iran’s primary terror apparatus – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

“UANI applauds the Trump administration’s commitment to furthering the president’s maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime. By applying secondary sanctions against companies that support the regime’s malign activities, the U.S. is sending a clear signal to every business executive: there is no refuge for anyone doing business with Iran.

“Increasing economic pressure on the regime is a national security imperative, particularly as Tehran has committed to lifting all limits on its uranium enrichment program.

“President Trump’s policies are precisely targeted to force a change in the regime’s behavior. We commend his efforts and encourage him to further restrict Tehran’s ability to advance its nuclear program and support its global terror infrastructure.”

In October 2019, UANI published a series of recommendations, Next Steps in the Maximum Pressure Campaign, which called for stronger action against Iran’s petrochemicals sector — its second largest export industry after oil – including individual sanctions against every Iranian petrochemical company and complex, as well as other key players in the sector.

Earlier, in a May 2019 op-ed, Senator Lieberman and Ambassador Wallace made the case for the Trump administration to apply sanctions to Iran’s petrochemical industry, which is dominated by the regime. In their op-ed, they stated, “To truly achieve ‘maximum pressure’ on the regime, President Trump needs to make his sanctions airtight across Iran’s economy. This means plugging the sanctions gaps on the other critical pillar of Iran’s energy export-dependent economy: petrochemicals.”

NIOC is also the organizer of the annual Iran Oil Show, widely recognized as the regime’s premier energy industry event. In May 2019, UANI sent representatives to Tehran and documented the participation of 14 companies in addition to the 44 that NIOC announced. Those 14 companies included Austrian firms Zumbotel, Schiebel and HEAT Group as well as the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber; Dutch firms Pipelife, Soluforce, Industrial Marine Solutions and Crown Support Services B.V.; Russia’s Eltech Ltd.; German firms Siemens and Phoenix Contact; Azerbaijan’s state-owned SOCAR; Spain’s Babcock Valves S.A.; and France’s Legrand SA.

To read Next Steps in the Maximum Pressure Campaign, please click here.

To read the op-ed, please click here.

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