Monday, December 10, 2012

UANI Calls on AB Volvo to End Business in Iran


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2012
Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com 
Phone: (212) 554-3296


  
UANI Calls on AB Volvo to End Business in Iran
Photographic Evidence of Volvo Trucks Transporting Iranian Missiles

New York, NY - On Monday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) called on Sweden-based AB Volvo (Volvo) to end its ongoing and dangerous business in Iran.

Volvo subsidiaries Volvo Trucks and Renault Trucks do extensive business in Iran, and are disturbingly partnered with the Iranian regime-controlled entity Saipa Diesel.

Volvo's subsidiaries produce automobiles in Iran, sell heavy construction and mining machinery there, and enable Iran's military to transport weapons and outfit naval vessels.

UANI has presented Volvo with photographic evidence of its trucks being used by the Iranian regime to transport missiles.

AB Volvo is a separate entity from the Volvo Car Corporation, which has certified that it does not do business in Iran.

In a letter sent to AB Volvo President and CEO Olof Persson, UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, wrote:

Volvo subsidiaries Volvo Trucks and Renault Trucks are partnered with the Iranian entity Saipa Diesel, a subsidiary of the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran ("IDRO"). As you may know, IDRO has been sanctioned by the U.S. and EU for its proliferation activities and ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ("IRGC"). Nevertheless, as part of its partnership with Volvo, Saipa Diesel manufactured some 2,366 Volvo FH-series and 632 Renault Midlum trucks in 2010 alone. In addition, Renault Truck's website details ongoing plans for Saipa Diesel to produce 1,800 Renault trucks annually.

            UANI is also concerned that Volvo's business with IDRO-affiliated entities has resulted in the transfer of dual-use technologies to the Iranian regime. For example, the Volvo Trucks website, states that Volvo has "contributed significantly with investments in tools and equipment" to its Iranian partners.

Moreover, evidence of the regime's misuse of Volvo equipment and technology by Iranian military and security forces has been widely documented. The enclosed photograph of a Volvo FH12-420 transporting Iranian MIM-23 surface-to-air missiles during the 2011 Sacred Defense Parade is clear evidence of this phenomenon.

            In addition, UANI is concerned by the fact that Volvo subsidiary Volvo Construction Equipment ("VCE") has partnered with Parsian Pishro Sanat to provide heavy construction and mining machinery to Iran. UANI's concern is understandably heightened in light of Iran's ongoing attempts to evade monitoring of its nuclear activities by constructing heavily fortified and clandestine nuclear facilities such as the Fordow facility outside the city of Qom.

Furthermore, UANI is troubled by the business activities of Volvo subsidiary Volvo Penta in Iran. Volvo Penta produces a number of sensitive products for the marine propulsion industry, including gas turbines for naval vessels, and lists multiple offices and dealers in Iran. Volvo Penta's Iran business is particularly troubling considering the fact that IRGC naval forces have been reported to utilize vessels outfitted with Volvo Penta's marine diesel engines.

UANI launched its "Auto Campaign" in March 2012. This year, Hyundai, Porsche, and Fiat have ended business in Iran in response to UANI campaigns and Peugeot stated it has stopped shipments of auto parts. In May, Ambassador Wallace testified about Iran's automotive industry before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.

UANI has developed model legislation, the DRIVE Act, to require auto manufacturers to choose between American taxpayers and the regime. The DRIVE Act requires automakers to certify they are not engaged in any business in Iran, or engaged in the implementation of any agreement with Iranian entities in order to be eligible for U.S. government contracts or financial assistance.

UANI has requested a reply from AB Volvo by December 17.

Click here to read UANI's full letter to Volvo.
Click here to view a Volvo truck transporting Iranian missiles.
Click here to send a message to Volvo.
Click here to visit UANI's "Auto Campaign" page.
Click here to read UANI's "DRIVE Act" legislation.


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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
  1. 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;
  2. Heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the danger that a nuclear armed Iran poses to the region and the world;
  3. Mobilize public support, utilize media outreach, and persuade our elected leaders to voice a robust and united American opposition to a nuclear Iran;
  4. Lay the groundwork for effective US policies in coordination with European and other allies;
  5. Persuade the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people, and;
  6. 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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