UANI Applauds U.S. Senators Call for Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran and Calls for Implementation of Additional Iran Sanctions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 10, 2011 Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com Phone: (212) 554-3296 UANI Applauds U.S. Senators Call for Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran and Calls for Implementation of Additional Iran Sanctions New York, NY - On Wednesday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the 92 U.S. Senators who sent a letter to President Barack Obama calling for "crippling sanctions" on the Central Bank of Iran. Said UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace: We applaud these Senators for calling for sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran and encourage Congress to implement additional sanctions measures such as the Iran Transparency and Accountability Act, which would require companies to fully disclose their Iran business to investors and the public. The American people and their elected representatives are clearly behind the cause of economically isolating Iran from the rest of the world until it abandons its plans to become nuclear. We also urge the administration to vigorously enforce existing sanctions measures including the certification provisions of CISADA, which require all companies that do business with the U.S. Government to certify they do not do sanctionable business with Iran. State and municipal lawmakers should also implement measures barring companies that do business in Iran from receiving lucrative state and municipal contracts. By working together, the federal government, state governments, and the international community can effectively pressure the Iranian regime to change course. This week, 92 members of the U.S. Senate wrote to President Obama urging the administration to sanction the Central Bank of Iran. UANI has supported tougher sanctions against Iran since its founding in 2008. In June 2009, UANI proposed the Iran Business Certification Act (IBC Act), an unprecedented measure requiring companies that do business with the U.S. Government to certify they do not conduct business in Iran. It was ultimately incorporated into the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA), the most broad Iran sanctions to date. UANI has also proposed unprecedented regulations and legislation for adoption by the SEC and U.S. Congress to require companies to fully disclose their Iran business to investors and the public. In February 2011, Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL), Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced the Iran Transparency and Accountability Act of 2011 which would require companies to disclose such business. These same regulations have also been included in the Iran Threat Reduction Act of 2011, introduced into Congress in May 2011. UANI is also urging states and municipalities to pass UANI model legislation barring companies that do business in Iran from receiving state government contracts. As the Financial Times recently reported, the 2010 Iran Contracting Act of California has already succeeded in pressuring several multinational corporations to end their business in Iran. Florida recently passed similar legislation. Click here to read the letter from 92 U.S. Senators calling for sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran. Click here to see UANI's model legislation page. ###

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.