UANI Applauds Reported Action by Tanzania to Sever Ties with Philtex Corporation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 5, 2013  Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com  Phone: (212) 554-3296   UANI Applauds Reported Action by Tanzania to Sever Ties with Philtex Corporation New York, NY - On Monday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the government of Tanzania for announcing that it will break its contract with the Philtex corporation. Philtex, based in the UAE and run by American Chris E. Warren, has been improperly registering Iranian vessels under the Tanzanian flag, while operating the Tanzania Zanzibar International Register of Shipping. UANI has been raising this issue with the Tanzanian government since 2012. Last November, UANI asked Tanzania's President, Jakaya Kikwete, to investigate Philtex's activities [see UANI letters here and here], and act diligently and swiftly to stop Iranian vessels from continuing to sail the seas under the Tanzanian flag. Said UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace: We applaud the government of Tanzania for announcing this action. Philtex has been acting illicitly in Tanzania, and misusing the Tanzanian flag to help the Iranian regime skirt international sanctions. We urge the government of Tanzania to follow through on this pledge immediately, and see to it that no more Iranian vessels travel the oceans flying the Tanzanian flag. We also call on the U.S. government to pursue sanctions against Philtex, particularly given its U.S. leadership and offices. As a company that is earning profits by aiding the Iranian regime and duping the international community, Philtex must face crippling economic and criminal penalties. UANI data from last month indicated 32 National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) tankers still signaling Tanzanian flags, including the NITC's newest and most capable Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). Philtex also operates a Philippines-based fraudulent maritime classification society, misleadingly called the "American Register of Shipping," that is known to provide false documentation to allow Iranian vessels to continue to operate. UANI further detailed the Iran and Philtex-operated sanctions fraud in a February 1, 2013 campaign, and released excerpts from a December 2012 screed sent to UANI from Philtex Director of Operations Jocelyn Acosta. Click here to read UANI's November 21, 2012 letter to Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete. Click here to read UANI's November 27, 2012 letter to President Kikwete. Click here to read UANI's November 30, 2012 letter to Philtex. Click here to read UANI's February 1, 2013 letter to Tanzania, Fujairah, Dubai, the Philippines, and the U.S., and UANI's exhibits. 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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