Just say no… to doing business in Iran (op-ed)

The Hill

UANI Veterans Advisory Council Memeber Staff Sgt. Robert Bartlett: "The improvised explosive device (IED) cut my skull in half, from the left corner of my temple down through my jaw, and killed my partner Staff Sgt. William Brooks. The Iranian-made roadside bomb that destroyed my Humvee while on patrol in Iraq in 2005 was part of Iran’s mission to exploit American interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan by targeting U.S. servicemen.  Deploying IEDs through its agents and proxies, Iran sought to kill and maim as many of us as possible. And their mission succeeded, as the regime was responsible for a quarter of American casualties during the operation in Iraq.  If this is news to those of you reading this, that is because Iran escaped nearly all accountability for their deadly actions.  Now, twelve years later, Iran remains an international outlaw and force for instability as the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Over the course of the last several years, Iran has also managed to effectively position itself as a worthy global partner, a dangerous misconception that was bolstered by the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in July 2015.  The nuclear deal signaled to the world that Iran is open for business. Now, American-affiliated companies like General Electric, Shell, and Fiat-Chrysler, as well as dozens of other companies around the world with significant business interests in the United States, see Iran as the next great economic frontier, a bastion of opportunity. What these companies fail to see, or worse, ignore, is Iran’s continued support for terrorist groups worldwide. Iran is aligned with the same enemies that thousands of U.S. servicemen risk their lives every single day to stop—the same enemies that maim and kill our men and women in uniform... American companies that do business in Iran are choosing profit over responsibility.  And on this Veterans Day, when American lives are still the bottom line, there should be no executive, board of directors, or shareholder who aligns themselves against the safety and wellbeing of our citizens. The severity of the risks make this choice crystal clear: Iran is no ally, nor partner for American business."