UANI Applauds U.S. Senate for Toughening Sanctions Against Iran on Eve of Baghdad Talks, Calls for Further Action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 22, 2012 Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com Phone: (212) 554-3296 UANI Applauds U.S. Senate for Toughening Sanctions Against Iran on Eve of Baghdad Talks, Calls for Further Action New York, NY - On Tuesday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Senate's passage of new Iran sanctions:  We applaud the U.S. Senate for taking this strong and unanimous action to further isolate the Iranian regime. Now is the time for the most robust sanctions against Iran in history, and U.S. lawmakers are effectively presenting a united front. It is still possible to prevent Iran from going nuclear and to avoid war, but only if the U.S. and its allies use all of their leverage to sanction and isolate the regime. Doing so will show the regime that the world is fully committed to this cause, and willing to do whatever is necessary. We again call on lawmakers in the U.S. and elsewhere to impose an economic blockade against the regime: based on banking, insurance, disclosure and debarment, and shipping. By closing all of the loopholes the regime is now exploiting to avoid sanctions, the world can show Iran it has no choice but to change course. The Johnson-Shelby bill includes numerous measures to increase pressure on Iran. It requires intensified targeting of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, and sanctions Iranian energy and uranium mining joint ventures. It also sanctions financial messaging service providers that provide services to sanctioned Iranian financial institutions. This year, UANI first raised this issue and led a successful campaign against the SWIFT financial network that culminated in SWIFT being forced to cut off access to Iranian banks. The sanctions also require firms traded on U.S. stock exchanges to disclose Iran-related activity to the Securities and Exchange Commission. This measure is based on UANI model regulations first devised in 2010 and introduced in the U.S. House by Representative Ted Deutch (FL-19) after consultations with UANI. The bill also mandates sanctions against those who supply Iran with the weapons and technologies it uses to commit human rights abuses, including irresponsible firms such as MTN. Click here to learn more about UANI model legislation.   ###

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.