New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, made the following statement today regarding Greek shipper Victor Restis's
statements that Enterprises Shipping and Trading S.A. (EST) vessels have indeed visited Iran (a fact Mr. Restis
has denied for months), but that those visits do not actually constitute business in or with Iran:
Through his Greek Counsel, Mr. Restis revealed that EST's vessels made multiple visits to Iran and remained in port in Iran for extended visits. Those visits contradict Mr. Restis's previous statements to the press, the public, UANI and the United States federal court. Indeed, Mr. Restis
represented to UANI:
.. Enterprises Shipping and Trading S.A., and its subsidiaries and affiliated companies and persons, including Golden Energy Marine Corp., have in place a comprehensive written compliance policy which strictly prohibits them from doing any business in or with the Islamic Republic of Iran or its agents and instrumentalities. The officers, directors and management of Enterprises Shipping and Trading S.A., Golden Energy Marine Corp., and their subsidiaries and affiliated companies and persons, including Victor Restis, commit to continue to uphold and enforce this policy. ... [emphasis added]
Previously, Mr. Restis was adamant in his denials that he "does not do business with Iran nor does he sanction others who do." Now that Mr. Restis's untruthfulness has been revealed, he is asking the press, public, UANI and the United States federal court to suspend reality and believe that EST's multiple visits and extended stays in Iran did not constitute "business."
No serious person would accept Mr. Restis's parsing, and his new statements once again call his credibility into question. Mr. Restis is suffering from a vast credibility gap caused by his own inconsistent and untruthful statements. He must fully account for all of his vessels' visits to Iran and the reason for their extended stays in Iran, disclose all documents related to those visits and stays, and account for all monies received from what parties and through what financial institutions.
No responsible entity should do business with Mr. Restis until he ends his business - his ship's visits - to Iran. In our multiple communications with Mr. Restis and his representatives, not once did anyone attempt to make this argument that EST's shipping activities into Iran were not business related. Now, out of hubris and desperation, Mr. Restis has said that EST's vessel visits to Iran were not business for EST - a fully groundless assertion.
Click
here to view statements by Mr. Restis denying any business with Iran.
Click
here for news accounts of Mr. Restis's arrest and criminal charges.
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