In Case You Missed It: UANI Shipping Campaign Reported by Reuters, Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal

In Case You Missed It: UANI Shipping Campaign Reported by Reuters, Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal "The South Korean Registry had come Under Pressure to Stop Iran Dealings from U.S. Campaigning Group United Against Nuclear Iran." Iran Faces New Blow as South Korea Firm Ends Ship Work By Jonathan Saul Reuters September 28, 2012 The last big company doing classification work on Iranian ships, key to securing insurance and ports access, said on Friday it is stopping the work, spelling further difficulty for Iran's shipping, including its oil exports. The Korean Register of Shipping (KR) is the last of the world's top 13 classification societies to halt marine work in Iran following a recent exodus... In July, KR had sidestepped calls by U.S. pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran to halt its verification work saying it was concerned that vessel safety and marine environment protection could be compromised. ... IACS members such as Germany's Germanischer Lloyd and France's Bureau Veritas pulled out of Iran after being urged to exit by United Against Nuclear Iran, which includes former U.S. ambassadors on its board and is funded by private donations. The pressure group backs tougher sanctions on Iran. "We applaud KR for this responsible and significant decision," a spokesman for the group said on Friday. "KR has joined other shipping services and countries in forcing Iran's business partners to now assume most all of the shipping risks for their business with the regime." Click here to read the full article. South Korean Safety Company Says It has Stopped Working with Iranian Ships By Benoit Faucon Dow Jones Newswires September 28, 2012 The Korean Register of Shipping, the last major company that was still certifying Iranian vessels for safety, said Friday it has stopped working with Tehran, adding a new challenge to their ability to sail in international waters. The decision came on top of existing problems--such as finding flags and insurance--for Iran's fleet, on which the country increasingly relies to export its oil and import food. ... Such services aren't under sanctions in Asia, but the South Korean registry had come under pressure to stop Iran dealings from U.S. campaigning group United Against a Nuclear Iran. "We applaud KR for this responsible and significant decision," UANI said Friday. "KR has now joined other classification societies and countries in forcing Iran's business partners to assume the risks for their work with the regime." Iran Shippers Face Difficulty Dodging Sanctions By Benoît Faucon and Colum Murphy The Wall Street Journal September 29, 2012 Officials from landlocked Mongolia said they would cancel the flag registrations of five Iranian cargo ships, providing a window into the cat-and-mouse game played by international authorities that are trying to curb Tehran weapons programs and by Iranian companies trying to work around them. The move on Thursday came days after officials in another inland nation, Moldova, told The Wall Street Journal it had deregistered 12 Iranian vessels in July and no longer has any Iranian vessels on its registry, to come into compliance with international sanction restrictions. ... A nonprofit group called United Against Nuclear Iran, begun by a former U.S. and international intelligence and security officials, also has adopted the cause of preventing Iranian vessels from sailing under foreign flags in a broad-based campaign to pressure Tehran. The U.S.-based group has pressed other countries, including Moldova, to cancel ship registrations. A spokesman wouldn't say whether the group has pressured Mongolia. Mark Wallace, a former U.S. ambassador and CEO of UANI, said that the group was aware of Iranian ships bearing Mongolian registrations and that it has been planning to lodge a protest with the Mongolian government. "We applaud the Mongolians' decision to reconsider their policy mistakes," Mr. Wallace said Friday. The group also has pressured financial institutions to stop business dealings with Iran. 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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