UANI Statement on MTN's Plans to Increase Investments in Iran

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

 

UANI Statement on MTN's Plans to Increase Investments in Iran

 

New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace issued the following statement Wednesday regarding reports that MTN has decided to expand and upgrade its investments in Iran:

 

At a time when companies everywhere from Europe to China are abiding by international sanctions and pulling out of Iran, MTN has shamefully decided to double down and expand its Iran presence. Make no mistake; MTN is not just a client of the brutal Iranian regime--it is a partner. MTN holds a 49% share of a regime-controlled company, MTN Irancell, and has carried out orders by the regime to shut off text messaging and track and silence innocent Iranian citizens.

  

It is especially disturbing to learn of MTN's new plans in light of reports that MTN has an entire floor in its Tehran headquarters that is controlled and utilized by Iranian military officials to spy on and track Iran's activists and journalists. If MTN has any interest in salvaging its badly-damaged reputation, it will reconsider how far it is willing to go for profits and stop helping the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism oppress its own innocent citizens.

  

Last week, a South African publication reported disturbing details of MTN's work in Iran, including accounts of a floor in MTN's headquarters that is controlled by Iranian military officials who compile tracking data on Iranian citizens. The report, and others like it, completely contradicts MTN's previous claims that it adheres to U.N. human rights policiesand is "a liberating force" for Iranian citizens.

 

UANI launched its MTN campaign in January, and has run online and Facebook advertisements highlighting MTN's work in Iran. MTN Irancell is the second-largest mobile phone network operator in Iran, and the majority of its shares are owned by the Iranian regime, which has exploited MTN's network and technology to monitor and track the activities and communications of peaceful dissidents.

 

Click here to read UANI's February 29 letter to MTN.

Click here to read UANI's January 25 letter to MTN.

Click here and here to see UANI's MTN advertisements.

Click here to send a message to MTN. 

 

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