FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 11, 2016
UANI
URGES AMERICAN-AFFILIATED COMPANIES TO SUPPORT U.S. VETERANS AND
REJECT IRAN BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
International
advocacy organization launches Veterans Advisory Council to warn
companies of the dangers associated with doing business in Iran
New York, NY - United
Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) launched a new campaign today calling
on American-affiliated companies to show solidarity with U.S.
veterans by avoiding business pursuits in Iran. The regime, which
remains the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, continues to
threaten American soldiers through its agents and proxies. Over the
years, Iran has been responsible for killing
more than 1,000 U.S. service members.
UANI is urging more than 50 leading global businesses
to sign an "Iran
Business Declaration" (IBD), which outlines a commitment to
avoid the plethora of financial, legal and reputational risks
attached to Iranian business ventures; documents Iran's
history of supporting terrorists; and highlights recent
public polling, which shows 60% of U.S. likely voters would stop
buying products from a company if it did business in Iran and 56%
would feel compelled to sell their stock in a company if it invested
in Iran.
"United Against Nuclear Iran is committed to
supporting our veterans who risk their lives while fighting for our
freedom," said U.S. Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Chairman of
UANI. "We must not allow Iran to continue its support of
terrorism without being held accountable. That begins with
American-affiliated companies showing their solidarity with our brave
men and women by not doing business in Iran."
Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, CEO of UANI continued,
"By signing the Declaration, companies are affirming their
support for our veterans and clearly aligning themselves with the
majority of the American public who will not tolerate the embrace of
a regime that is responsible for killing more than 1,000 U.S. service
members."
To coincide with the launch of the new campaign, UANI
also announced the formation of a Veterans Advisory Council, which
will be led by Captain Pete Hegseth (Retired), Captain
Michael Pregent (Retired) and Staff Sergeant Robert Bartlett
(Retired), who was badly injured by an Iranian bomb while on
patrol in Iraq in 2005. The council will help to educate government
and business leaders about the dangers of doing business with Iran as
it relates to the regime's support of terrorists who target U.S.
servicemen around the world.
"As one of the world's leading state-sponsors of
terrorism it is inexcusable for companies to enter into business
dealings with Iran when they are fully aware of the great physical
and emotional harm this regime has caused for our men and women in
uniform," said the members of the newly formed UANI veteran
advisory board. "We look forward to working with our
colleagues at UANI to further educate business leaders, government
officials and policymakers about the risks associated with engaging
in economic opportunities in Iran."
Yesterday, UANI's Staff Sergeant Bartlett authored
an op-ed in The
Hill on the dangers the Iranian regime poses to U.S.
military personnel in the region.
Led by a group of former leading diplomats and
lawmakers, UANI is in the midst of a global education campaign
focused on the corporate risks of doing business with Iran, warning
hundreds of international companies that are contemplating Iran as a
new investment opportunity. As part of its campaign to
highlight the dangers of business with the Iranian regime, UANI has
identified a matrix
of 10 key risk categories businesses and sovereign
states face should they pursue deals with Tehran.
Veterans Advisory Council
Captain Pete Hegseth (Retired) served
in Afghanistan and Iraq and holds two Bronze Star medals and a Combat
Infantryman Badge. He is Princeton/Harvard graduate, veterans
advocacy leader and military analyst. He previously served as
CEO for Concerned Veterans for America, the largest veterans and military
families organization in the country as well as executive director of
Vets for Freedom, an organization committed to victory on the
battlefield.
Captain Michael Pregent (Retired) is
the executive director of Veterans Against the (Iran) Deal and former
U.S. Army Intelligence Officer and Defense Intelligence Agency with
nearly 30 years of experience working in security, terrorism,
counter-insurgency and policy issues in the Middle East, North Africa
and Southeast Asia. He is a senior Middle East analyst, an
adjunct fellow at Hudson Institute and visiting fellow at the
Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense
University.
Staff Sergeant Robert Bartlett (Retired) is
a Bronze Star medal and Purple Heart recipient who served in Iraq and
was severely injured in combat by a bomb in 2005. He has also
received the Warriors Medal of Valor from the Native Americans,
Soldiers of the Quarter from the American Legion, Brain Injury
Society Award, Patient of Courage form the Society of Plastic
Surgeons. He works with injured veterans at Walter Reed to
participate in outdoor recreational healing and volunteered with the
Pentagon to guide military tactics in combat and be more effective in
battle operations.
For more information, or to speak with UANI
leadership, please contact: press@uani.com.
###
About UANI
UANI is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan,
advocacy group founded in 2008 by Ambassador Mark D. Wallace,
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, former CIA Director Jim Woolsey, and
Middle East Expert Ambassador Dennis Ross, that seeks to heighten
awareness of the danger the Iranian regime poses to the world.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment