UANI Calls on Rio Tinto to End Its Business with the Iranian Government

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 21, 2010 Contact: Kimmie Lipscomb, press@uani.com Phone: (212) 554-3296 UANI Calls on Rio Tinto to End Its Business with the Iranian Government New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) today called on Rio Tintoand Rossing to sever ties with the Iranian government. Rio Tinto currently owns a majority stake in the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia, while the Iran Foreign Investment Company (IFIC) owns a 15% stake in the same mine. The IFIC is wholly owned by the Iranian government. IFIC's involvement in Rossing is a direct violation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions. Rio Tinto's involvement with the Iranian government through the Rossing mine may be subject to legal action by relevant U.S. authorities. Such association also directly jeopardizes Rio Tinto's eligibility to receive contracts from the U.S. government. In a letter to Jan du Plessis, the Chairman of the Rio Tinto Group, UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace wrote: This letter is to inform the Rio Tinto Group ("Rio Tinto") that your majority ownership of the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia appears to be a violation of U.S. law. **** United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) calls upon Rio Tinto and Rossing to sever ties with any entity directly or indirectly representing the Iranian government... Profits from the Rossing uranium mine are channeled directly to the Iranian government, emboldening and financially empowering its pursuit of an illegal nuclear weapons program, as well as fostering the regime's ability to oppress the Iranian people and support terrorist groups in the region. Iranian government personnel also have access to the facility, from which they can acquire valuable technical knowledge to advance the regime's nuclear weapons program. **** Through the Iran Foreign Investment Company (IFIC), Iran currently owns a 15 percent stake in the Rossing uranium mine located in Namibia. In August 2010, the U.S. Department of Treasury placed IFIC on the Iranian Transactions Regulation list. **** More broadly, UANI calls upon Rio Tinto to clarify Iran's role in the Rossing uranium mine and any other business associations it has in or with Iran... UANI is concerned that Rio Tinto has made no mention of Iran's holdings in the Rossing uranium mine in these filings. **** It is time for Rio Tinto and Rossing to recognize this threat as well and follow the lead of other responsible companies and stop putting short-term profits ahead of Iran's clear threat to global security. Please let us hear from you by November 2, 2010 as to whether or not you will take action to end Rio Tinto's and Rossing's business with Iran. Click hereto read the full text of the letter to Rio Tinto. Click hereto call on Rio Tinto to end its dealings with Iran. # # # United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran should concern every American and be unacceptable to the community of nations. Since 1979 the Iranian regime, most recently under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership, has demonstrated increasingly threatening behavior and rhetoric toward the US and the West. Iran continues to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations in their attempts to monitor its nuclear activities. A number of Arab states have warned that Iran's development of nuclear weapons poses a threat to Middle East stability and could provoke a regional nuclear arms race. In short, the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran is a danger to world peace. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons. UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons. The Objectives of United Against a Nuclear Iran Inform the public about the nature of the Iranian regime, including its desire and intent to possess nuclear weapons, as well as Iran's role as a state sponsor of global terrorism, and a major violator of human rights at home and abroad; Heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the danger that a nuclear armed Iran poses to the region and the world; Mobilize public support, utilize media outreach, and persuade our elected leaders to voice a robust and united American opposition to a nuclear Iran; Lay the groundwork for effective US policies in coordination with European and other allies; Persuade the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people, and; Promote efforts that focus on vigorous national and international, social, economic, political and diplomatic measures. UANI is led by an advisory board of outstanding national figures representing all sectors of our country.

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