UANI Applauds Korean Register of Shipping for Ending its Certification of Iranian Vessels

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 28, 2012 Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com  Phone: (212) 554-3296 UANI Applauds Korean Register of Shipping for Ending its Certification of Iranian Vessels New York, NY - On Friday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the Korean Register of Shipping (KR) for ending its certification of Iranian vessels, specifically those of the sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC). Since June 2012, UANI has persistently pressured KR to end its Iran-related activities (see here, here, here). Today, KR announced that it has "stop[ped] providing classification services to Iranian ships." Said UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace: We applaud KR for this responsible and significant decision. 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. Without certification coverage, which is needed to acquire shipping insurance or to enter major international ports, the Iranian regime's shipping activities will be drastically restricted. The ultimate effect will be to isolate the regime more than ever before and hamper its ability to do international commerce. UANI will continue to work to impose an international shipping blockade against the Iranian regime, and call for constant vigilance and corporate responsibility when it comes to Iran's use of vessels. KR joins the prominent shipping services Bureau Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, and ClassNK in ending their certification of Iranian vessels in response to UANI. UANI has highlighted the shipping industry as an area where the international community can further pressure Iran. In a March 17 Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, six UANI board members wrote that "the world must deny Iran's access to international shipping, a move that would severely affect the regime given its dependence on global trade and seaborne crude oil exports." Click here to read UANI's June 25 letter to KR. Click here to learn more about UANI's Shipping 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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