In Case You Missed It: "U.S. and EU Probing Money of Lebanon's Hezbollah"

   

In Case You Missed It: "U.S. and EU Probing Money of Lebanon's Hezbollah" "The Culmination of Pressure ... By the U.S.-Based Non-Governmental Organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)" U.S. and EU Probing Money of Lebanon's Hezbollah By Jilan al-Fatayri Al Arabiya News 19 July 2012 The Lebanese banking sector is once more back to the limelight with EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove placing it on his agenda in a series of meetings he is to hold with a number of Lebanese officials to track down Hezbollah's money, according to a report published by the Lebanese newspaper Annahar. Kerchove's visit to Lebanon is the culmination of pressure exercised on the country's banking sector, the last chapter of which was a report issued by the U.S.-based non-governmental organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). The report, published in Wall Street Journal, accused the Lebanese banking sector of laundering Hezbollah's money and of not abiding by the international sanctions imposed on Iran and Syria. The Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice requested to track down Shiite businessman Adnan Hassan Tajeddine and gain access to his bank accounts. Tajeddine, who filed for bankruptcy in the United States, is accused of smuggling Hezbollah money. Joseph Torbey, chairman of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, refuted claims that the banking sector in Lebanon in not abiding by international sanctions and called attempts at tightening the noose on it a conspiracy against Lebanon. "This is a campaign launched by a non-governmental organization that has no official status to begin with," he told Al Arabiya. What helps this campaign, he added, is the publication of reports against the Lebanese banking sectors in prominent newspapers, which endow them with credibility. "But at the end, there is no proof that claims in these reports are true." ... Torbey downplayed the effect of UANI's demand that American and European companies withdraw their investments from the Lebanese stock market and the fact that three companies have already done so and more are expected to follow. ... Click here to read the full article. ###                                                                        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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