UANI Calls on Liebherr to End Its Business in Iran as Part of Ongoing Cranes Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 28, 2011 Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com Phone: (212) 554-3296 UANI Calls on Liebherr to End Its Business in Iran as Part of Ongoing Cranes Campaign New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) on Thursday called on Swiss-German construction equipment manufacturer Liebherr to end its business dealings in Iran. As one of Iran's largest suppliers of cranes, Liebherr is enabling the Iranian regime to continue its brutal execution binge, which includes the hanging of civilians from construction cranes. According to its website, Liebherr sells equipment in Iran through the Tehran-based Boron Marz Co. Similarly, the Iranian company Shenavar Saze Pooyesh describes itself as the exclusive agent of Liebherr-Werk Nenzing, the Austrian subsidiary of Liebherr. Particularly troubling, the government of Germany has expressed concerns about the possibility of Liebherr cranes being used by blacklisted Iranian shell companies to support Tehran's missile program. The UANI "Cranes Campaign" highlights the Iranian regime's abhorrent executions by hanging from construction cranes, and the disturbing reality that these cranes are coming from Western and Asian companies. Iran has set a blistering pace of executions in the first months of 2011, with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran proclaiming that the regime is on an "execution binge." Yesterday, Amnesty International reported that Iran has publicly hanged nearly as many of its citizens this year as it did in all of 2010. Quoted by Reuters, Amnesty official Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said, "It is deeply disturbing that despite a moratorium on public executions ordered in 2008, the Iranian authorities are once again seeking to intimidate people by such spectacles which not only dehumanize the victim, but brutalize those who witness it." In a letter to Liebherr Chairman of the Board Willi Liebherr, UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace wrote: [I]t is important to recognize how Liebherr's association with the Iranian regime can have lasting damage on Liebherr's public image. Given the threat posed by Iran's pursuit of an illegal nuclear weapons program, sponsorship of terrorism, and egregious human rights record, it is only natural that citizens and governments around the world are scrutinizing ever more closely the activities of companies in Iran. *** UANI calls upon Liebherr to join other responsible corporations and end its business operations in Iran. In so doing, Liebherr can help put pressure on the Iranian regime and persuade them to change course and abandon policies running directly counter to the values of the civilized world. More importantly, by joining other construction companies and pulling out of Iran, Liebherr avoids any possibility of having its brand name associated with Iran's grisly practice of public executions by hanging or development of Iran's weapons of mass destruction program or oil and gas sectors, which fund Iran's international terrorism and illicit nuclear program. Responsible corporations, notably construction companies Caterpillar, Terex, and Komatsu, have already complied with UANI's call to pull out of Iran. In addition to Liebherr, as part of the Cranes Campaign UANI is also calling on Manitowoc, a U.S. cranes company, and foreign equipment manufacturers such as Tadano (Japan), UNIC (Japan), Cargotec (Finland), Konecranes (Finland), XCMG (China), Kobelco (Japan), Zoomlion (China) and Gottwald (Germany) to account for their business in Iran and the likelihood that their cranes are being used for public executions. Click here to send a message to Liebherr. Click here to read the letter to Liebherr. Click here to learn more about UANI's Cranes Campaign. ### 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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