News and Updates from United Against Nuclear Iran

UANI Roundup News and Updates from United Against Nuclear Iran UANI Welcomes the Further Re-Imposition of U.S. Sanctions Against Iran UANI Chairman Senator Joe Lieberman and CEO Ambassador Mark Wallace released a statement November 2 welcoming the re-imposition of a second round of sanctions on Iran, which read in part: "We encourage the Trump Administration to fulfill the promise of a maximum pressure campaign - no exceptions - until Iran permanently and verifiably changes its behavior." UANI issued a second statement on November 5, stressing that oil waivers granted to eight countries to ease their exit from the Iranian market must be one-time event and that Iranian banks and financial institutions must be excluded from the SWIFT system, which facilitates international bank transfers. "The implementation of a maximum pressure, full economic blockade on Iran is the only way to force the regime to change its malignant behavior," the statement said. "This campaign should include action by SWIFT to disconnect Iranian banks and no repeat of these oil waivers after 180 days. Anything else will continue allowing the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism to fund its global terror campaign." Media coverage: Washington Post, New York Times, Sinclair Broadcasting Group, ABC News, US News & World Report, San Francisco Chronicle, CNBC, and many others. IRAN IN THE WORLD New Resource: UANI Report Reveals Iran's Malign Intelligence Activities In July, European authorities intercepted two Iranian suspects in Belgium carrying 500 grams of explosives who were planning to attack a gathering of an Iranian dissident organization in Paris. The foiled plot, for which an Iranian intelligence officer masquerading as a diplomat and three others have been charged by Belgian authorities, bore the hallmarks of numerous past Iranian attacks, including the use of an Iranian embassy for planning and coordination. In Iran's Malign Intelligence Activities, UANI details how Iran's intelligence apparatus, coupled with terror proxies like Hezbollah, has planned and executed assassinations and bombing attacks of perceived opponents of the theocratic regime in Iran and around the world. Ex-CIA Official: Iran is the Primary Engine of Regional Destabilization UANI Senior Advisor Norm Roule discusses Iran's regional meddling in an interview with the Jerusalem Post. "Iran's actions have extended the conflicts and exacerbated the tragic suffering of the Yemeni people. Iran supports more than a dozen Shi'ite and Sunni militias and terrorist groups in the region. It has proliferated advanced missile technology. There is no question Iran is the primary engine of destabilization in the region and the international community. This must be stopped and Iran must be compelled to cease its behavior." Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman on Iran   UANI Chairman Senator Joseph I. Lieberman comments on Fox News regarding the exit from the Iran nuclear deal. "We gave up most of the economic sanctions on Iran for very little in return, and now the President says that's not good enough. So, we're squeezing them economically, that's the one way short of military action to bring them to the table to renegotiate a better agreement."  IRANIAN ECONOMIC NEWS SWIFT Must End Its Services in Iran In a series of letters, UANI called on the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) to terminate its relationship with the Iranian banking system. With the pending reimposition of sweeping sanctions on the Iranian banking system and its well-documented ties to terrorist groups, UANI urged the group, which enables international bank transfers, to revert to its 2012-2016 policy of excluding Iran.  AB Volvo's Decision to Leave Iran UANI President David Ibsen and Research Director Daniel Roth applauded AB Volvo for finally coming to terms with the massive risks associated with Iran business. "The vast majority of European companies simply do not want to do business with the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, and those that do cannot effectively manage their operations given the poor business environment," they said. "European policy-makers should not force European business leaders to deal with Iran." EYE ON HEZBOLLAH Blog: Hezbollah Since the 1983 Beirut Barracks Bombings: Adapted but Unrepentant "On the morning of October 23, 1983, Imad Mughniyeh and Mustafa Badreddine perched atop a building in south Beirut with their binoculars fixated on the four-story U.S. Marine Barracks attached to the International Airport. After months of meticulous planning, the attack that would launch them into international infamy as Hezbollah's most storied - and lethal - commanders was about to unfold. At 6:22 AM, a truck laden with six tons of explosives slammed into the building, collapsing it to rubble and killing 241 American servicemen. Calmly watching the explosions, the duo smiled with satisfaction at their plan's success. Minutes later and four miles away, another truck detonated at the French Paratrooper headquarters, leaving 58 dead. Present-day Hezbollah shies away from claiming such spectacular terror attacks, preferring pragmatic finesse over belligerency and confrontation. However, it remains a deadly terrorist group in service of Iran." New Resource: Perspectives: Lebanon and Hezbollah On October 5, UANI launched a new feature designed to help readers stay abreast of developments in strategically important Lebanon, and the activities of the terrorist group Hezbollah, created and heavily financed by Iran. Perspectives: Lebanon and Hezbollah is emailed on Friday. THE FUTURE OF IRAN POLICY Op-ed: Why is the EU Still Fantasizing About the Iran Deal? UANI Research Director Daniel Roth, writing in the Jerusalem Post, discusses the European Union's "bizarre insistence on seeking to resuscitate the corpse of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA)." Led by foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, the EU continues to try to keep money flowing to Tehran. "But today, following more than 150 confirmed European pullouts since May - including some of the biggest names in EU business like Volvo, Renault, Maersk and Siemens - there are no longer buyers for what the EU is selling. Even the French and German governments, he said, traditionally "the engine of European integration, are scornful of the Brussels-based efforts." War by Other Means An opinion piece in the New York Times focused on Iran noted the participation of Trump Administration officials at the UANI Summit: "The same day, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, the national security adviser, spoke at a meeting in New York of United Against Nuclear Iran, a well-financed hardline group. Mr. Bolton was especially belligerent, warning the Iranians, 'If you cross us, our allies, or our partners, if you harm our citizens, if you continue to lie, cheat, and deceive, yes, there will indeed be hell to pay.'" Op-Ed: How Trump Can Get a Better Deal on Iran UANI Advisory Board Member Michael Singh writing in Foreign Policy, suggests that President Trump's pressure on Iran could well lead to negotiations for a better nuclear deal. UANI POLICY ANALYSIS Op-Ed: Iran's Duplicitous Foreign Policy Plays UANI Policy Director Jason Brodsky writes in the National Interest on Iran's foreign policy playbook as the world gathers in New York for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. Op-Ed: Understanding Iran's Strategy for Threatening Israel Writing in the Jerusalem Post, UANI Outreach Coordinator Bob Feferman notes that m any Western analysts highly underestimate the existential nature of the repeated threats by Iranian leaders to the destruction of Israel. Op-Ed: Trump should hit Iran on human rights at the UN UANI Advisor for Policy and Washington Outreach Alan Goldsmith writes in The Hill about the need for President Trump to "strike at Tehran's Achilles heel - its violations of the Iranian people's human rights." 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.