Thursday, December 27, 2018

News and Updates from United Against Nuclear Iran



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UANI Roundup
News and Updates from United Against Nuclear Iran
BUSINESS RISK
UANI Chairman Senator Joseph I. Lieberman discussed the resumption of sanctions on Iran's oil industry on November 5 with Bloomberg television. "I think the deal with the Obama administration along with our allies in Europe was a bad deal for us. We gave too much away and got too little in return. All of that changed as a result of President Trump, including the sanctions that were back on Iran this week. Estimates are that sanctions will cut Iranian oil exports by 1 million barrels a day. That's a real body blow to Iran."

Adopting Enhanced Due Diligence, KYCC Compliance Standards Would Protect Businesses & Help U.S. Sanctions Succeed
On November 29, following the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions and action by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) to disconnect Iranian banks from its financial messaging system, UANI called for more to be done through a "maximum pressure" campaign in order to change Iran's behavior. Today, no reputable company will risk violating U.S. and international sanctions, and every company is certain to apply the best practices of Due Diligence (DD) and Know-Your-Customer (KYC). However, in order for a maximum pressure campaign to succeed, a broader conceptual shift in how the business community thinks about Iran is needed, one that deploys at a minimum Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) and Know-Your-Customer's-Customer (KYCC) practices.

"Right now, a U.S. company can conduct business with any company in the world as long as it's not sanctioned. However, sometimes European and Asian firms have partners or suppliers who have done business with Iran. Applying a higher standard of due diligence known as Know-Your-Customer's-Customer would reduce the number of companies undermining U.S. sanctions and provide greater protection from materials or money ending up in Iranian hands," said UANI Chairman Senator Joseph I. Lieberman.
"A broad shift in how the business world frames Iran as a market, together with enhanced due diligence and Know-Your-Customer's-Customer, will enable American firms to help plug the gaps in Iranian sanctions enforcement," said UANI CEO Mark D. Wallace. "For all of us, keeping an eye on the margins of Iran's ties to the business community is crucial because every violation of U.S. sanctions chips away at their strength, encourages more bad behavior, and supports the regime in Tehran."
Beijing-based Huawei Technologies Co.'s chief financial officer, Meng "Cathy" Wanzhou, was arrested on December 1 for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions by doing business in Iran through Hong Kong-based Skycom Tech. According to the Chinese government, Huawei has operated in Iran since 1999, and provides network services, consulting, and/or equipment to Iranian telecommunications companies and defense contractors supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. In 2015, Huawei - the world's largest telecommunications company and second largest smartphone maker - reported that Iran was its largest foreign market.

Since 2016, UANI has reached out to Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei on three separate occasions detailing how the Iranian business community is awash with terrorist front companies, its banks are a conduit for terror financing, and its leaders are dependent on foreign capital to support everything from human rights abuses to the development of advanced ballistic missiles. Every effort by UANI to persuade Mr. Ren of these risks and the attendant increased scrutiny on Huawei has gone unheeded. Now his colleague and daughter, CFO Meng Wanzhou, faces extradition by Canadian authorities to the U.S. and a potentially lengthy stretch in jail.

"The arrest of a senior Huawei official for allegedly shipping products of U.S.-origin to Iran and other countries in violation of U.S. export and sanctions laws should cause all American retailers to review and cancel their agreements with the company to stock and sell their products," said UANI CEO Mark D. Wallace. "It is entirely inappropriate for American companies, especially those with government contracts, to maintain ties to a business that supports the Iranian regime."
TERRORISM AND REGIONAL MEDDLING
On December 4, as peace negotiations were beginning in Sweden between the internationally recognized government of Yemen and the Iranian-supported Houthis, UANI released updated resources on Iran's attempt to dominate the Middle East through an extensive strategy of providing manpower, materiel, and money to proxies and subversive groups across the region.
UANI's resource includes an interactive map, enabling viewers to graphically follow and quickly find country reports detailing Iran's strategy for dominance and attempts to undermine legitimate governments in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. The resource includes reports on Iranian proxies operating throughout the region, including Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Badr Organization, the Houthis, and Kata'ib Hezbollah. Since its founding in 1979, Iran has aggressively sought to "export" its Islamic Revolution. Iran's quest for regional dominance has caused instability throughout the Middle East, enflaming sectarian divisions and triggering devastating wars that have left hundreds of thousands dead.

Iran Admits 'Significant' Medium-Range Ballistic Missile Test
On December 10, Iran confirmed it had carried out a recent ballistic missile test, after denying it earlier in the month. Jordan Steckler, a research analyst at United Against Nuclear Iran told
The National: "At a time when the EU has continuously struggled to create a mechanism for continued European trade and investment with Iran, the ballistic missile tests, as well as Iran's stepped-up campaign of assassinations and terrorist plots on European soil, show that Tehran has no intentions of moderating its behavior."
UANI OP-EDS, BLOGS, AND ANALYSIS
UANI President David Ibsen, writing in Euractiv, discusses shortsighted proposals advanced by some EU policymakers since the U.S. decision to leave the Iran nuclear deal. "European political resentment over the failure of the JCPOA will eventually fade - but the costs and the stigma for businesses and commercial entities working with the brutal Iranian regime may not."

Op-Ed: The EU's Problematic Iran Strategy
UANI Advisory Board Member and former Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi writes in U.S. News & World Report that France's decision to impose sanctions in response to Iranian terror threats is a step in the right direction and should be applied throughout the EU, which has "yet to take actual, concrete steps toward exerting comprehensive pressure on Iran's Islamist regime."

Op-Ed: One Good Reason Not to Fly Alitalia, Austrian or Lufthansa: Hezbollah
Writing in the Times of Israel, UANI Coordinator Bob Feferman notes that Lufthansa, Alitalia, and Austrian Airlines all have direct flights to the Islamic Republic. "In light of dangerous developments involving Iran and its loyal proxy Hezbollah, I urge readers to think twice before booking their next flight on one of these airlines."

Iranian Military Business Bravado is All Bluster
UANI analysts Daniel Roth and Jordan Steckler discuss Iran's claims of producing a new fighter jet and other public relations tricks designed to create the image of a dynamic, powerful Iran. "Perhaps the most consequential lie of all is the one that some members of the global community continue to tell themselves: that Iran can be trusted as a responsible custodian of a nuclear energy program. Iran's frequently exposed efforts to conceal the extent of weaponization work carried out under its illicit nuclear program are often brushed under the carpet."

Hezbollah Tunnels and Israel's Operation Northern Shield
Writing about the discovery of tunnels dug by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel, UANI Outreach Coordinator Bob Feferman observed: "The context for these events can be found in Iran's dangerous regional ambitions. Over the past several years, Iran has been working to create a land bridge from Tehran to the Mediterranean. To achieve that goal, Iran seeks to dominate three Arab countries: Iraq, Lebanon and Syria."

Why Did Lebanon's Security Chief Praise Terrorism During a Counter-Terror Speech?
The Jerusalem Post reported that Lebanon's Maj.-Gen Abbas Ibrahim praised terrorism during an anti-terror conference attended by representatives of the Middle East and Africa. Ibrahim reportedly praised Hezbollah's "resistance" and distinguished its terrorism from other forms of terror. "David Daoud, a Research Analyst on Hezbollah and Lebanon at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) tweeted about the incident, noting the irony that in offering Lebanon's 'counterterrorism expertise,' the security chief was also praising Hezbollah."








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.

American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, P.O. Box 1028, New York, NY 10185-1028


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