UANI Applauds EU, Urges Swift Implementation of Iran Oil Embargo

January 5, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2012
Contact: Nathan Carleton, [email protected]
Phone: (212) 554-3296

         

UANI Applauds EU, Urges Swift Implementation of Iran Oil Embargo

New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement today regarding the EU's provisional decision to ban imports of Iranian oil, a measure UANI publicly called for throughout 2011.

We applaud the EU for its plan to ban imports of Iranian oil, and urge member states to quickly implement this embargo. An oil ban by EU states will significantly threaten the Iranian regime's tenuous hold on power, and lessen the funds it will have to pursue nuclear weapons, sponsor terrorists, and threaten the world.

The tide has truly turned over the past few months as evidenced by the U.S.'s move to sanction Iran's Central Bank, Chinese companies leaving Iran, and Europe's impending embargo of Iranian oil imports. Just months ago these measures were being described as unlikely, yet intense public pressure, Iranian intransigence, and committed lawmakers have made them a reality. The international community is now applying more leverage than ever before to pressure Iran into changing course and halting its illegal nuclear weapons program.

UANI has continually called for EU states to ban the importing of Iranian oil, including in a September Op-Ed in The [UK] Times, and a November Op-Ed in The National Review.

According to The New York Times, oil makes up 60 percent of Iran's economy, and European countries purchased about 18 percent of Iranian oil exports in 2010.

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