Sanctioned Iranian Companies Sponsor and Attend Business Forum in Rome, Italy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2016
[email protected]

Sanctioned Iranian Companies Sponsor and Attend Business Forum in Rome, Italy

UANI Contrasts Forum with Seminar in Italy's Senate Highlighting Severe Risk of Iran Business Ties

New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) cautioned Italian leaders and businesses last week participating in the 2016 "Iran Country Presentation" exhibition in Rome.

The day the exhibition launched, UANI held its own event in the Italian Senate, a seminar entitled "Italy-Iran Business Relations: A Cost-Benefit Analysis." Spearheaded by UANI Advisory Board Member Ambassador Giulio Terzi, the former Foreign Minister of Italy, the event featured Italian Senators Lucio Malan and Anna Cinzia Bonfrisco, as well as MP Daniele Capezzone. Topics included human rights in Iran, terror financing, the activities of pro-Iranian Shiite militias, and the current situation in Syria, which all underscored the significant financial, legal and reputational risks companies face in doing business with Iran.  

A number of sanctioned Iranian companies attended the Iran business exhibition. Forum sponsors and participants are well-known companies that have been-and in certain cases remain-sanctioned by the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, including: Bank Sepah, which, according to U.S. Treasury Department officials, "has actively assisted Iran's pursuit of missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction;" the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO); the Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development & Renovation (IMIDRO); and Khorasan Metallurgy Industry, which is sanctioned for its role in developing Iran's nuclear program.

"It is unacceptable for Italy to welcome sanctioned businesses to an event seeking to increase economic ties between Iran and Italy," said Ambassador Terzi. "It is illegal for any business-Italian or otherwise-to engage with these sanctioned companies which have been blacklisted by the United Nations, the EU and our ally, the United States. One of the event participants, Khorasan Metallurgy Industry, remains under sanction for its role in developing Iran's nuclear program. We should not welcome those who have participated in these illegal and illicit activities to our country, and we cannot encourage our businesses to foster ties with these groups."

The UANI seminar held in the Italian Senate was covered by l'intraprendente, nuova Agenzia Radicale, and Radio Radicale, where full video of the event can be viewed (*in Italian only*).

UANI has directly reached out to Italian companies including Eni, Fiat Chrysler, Leonardo-Finmeccanica, Mediobanca, Banca Popolare di Sondrio, and Danieli, regarding the risks of Iranian business, as part of the organization's global campaign to inform businesses about the significant financial, legal and reputational risks they face in dealing with Tehran. As part of its campaign, UANI has identified a matrix of 10 key risk categories businesses and sovereign states face should they pursue deals with Tehran.

UANI's video on Iran Business Risk with Italian subtitles can be viewed here.

Media interested in speaking with Ambassador Giulio Terzi, please contact: [email protected].

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.

###