UANI Calls on Mayor Bloomberg to Refuse to Award Taxi of Tomorrow Contract to Companies that Conduct Business in Iran

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 6, 2011 Contact: Kimmie Lipscomb, press@uani.com Phone: (212) 554-3296 UANI Calls on Mayor Bloomberg to Refuse to Award Taxi of Tomorrow Contract to Companies that Conduct Business in Iran New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) on Wednesday called on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to refuse to award the contract for the Taxi of Tomorrow campaign to any company that conducts business in Iran. The Taxi of Tomorrow campaign is a competition designed to select New York City's exclusive taxi cab for a decade. Two of the three finalists for the lucrative contract, Japan's Nissan Motor Company ("Nissan") and Turkey's Karsan Otomotiv ("Karsan"), do business in Iran. Through their respective business operations, Nissan and Karsan are facilitating the Iranian government's ability to engage in behavior that runs directly counter to the security and values of the people of New York City. In a letter to the Mayor Bloomberg, UANI President Ambassador Mark D. Wallace wrote: By way of background, UANI asks your office to consider the following issues. With respect to Nissan, they have had a longtime relationship with the Iranian car manufacturer, Pars Khodro, and have been producing cars and trucks in Iran since 1987. These operations continue to this day. (The New York Times, "Profiting from Iran, and the US," March 6, 2010). Nissan and its partner Pars Khodro make no attempt to hide this business relationship and it is advertised on a variety of company profiles and their company Website. (See, Nissan's "Profile 2008" and the Pars Khodro Website). Similarly, the Turkish auto company, Karsan entered into a five-year exclusive distribution agreement in 2007 with Iran's Sanat Khuodro Kamau to export J9 minibus models to Iran. (Karsan Report, May 10, 2007). Karsan has entered into a business relationship with the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC Site, "Karsan J9 Premier," February 26, 2007) and, as recently as July 2010, the company indicated that their vehicles would be sold not only in Iran, but Syria as well. (Press Release, "Creation of 'J10' for 7 Million Euros Astonished French Peugeot," July 15, 2010). Nissan and Karsan's decision to do business in Iran is wrong. As Mayor of New York, however, you can let them know that the people of New York City will not help finance those irresponsible and unethical business decisions. Any company seeking to do business with New York City should only be eligible to do so if they are able to certify that they do not do business with Iran. Companies should not be able to hide behind the corporate veil of foreign subsidiaries when they make such certification. Attached for your review is a proposed certification for your consideration. Certifications such as these help the public make informed investment decisions and will enable New York City officials to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent in ways that align with the values of the people of this great city. # # # Click here to send a message to Mayor Bloomberg, Nissan and Karsan Click here to read the full text of the letter to Mayor Bloomberg 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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