Construction Company Liebherr to End Its Business in Iran Following UANI Cranes Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 24, 2011 Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com Phone: (212) 554-3296 Construction Company Liebherr to End Its Business in Iran Following UANI Cranes Campaign New York, NY - On Wednesday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded Swiss-German construction equipment manufacturer Liebherr for pledging to end its business in Iran. In recent correspondence with UANI, Liebherr executives stated that Liebherr "will cease all business operations in Iran." Further, Liebherr informed UANI that as of May 2011, it had "informed [its] former customers and business associates in Iran that the companies of the Liebherr Group will cease their business activities with them." UANI applauds Liebherr for its decision, which it made after learning about the Iranian regime's use of construction cranes for gruesome public hangings. Said UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace: Liebherr is the fourth major crane company to pull out of Iran following UANI's Cranes Campaign. UANI applauds Liebherr for its decision and good judgment and appreciates Liebherr's willingness to work with UANI on this serious human rights issue. The Iranian regime's use of cranes to publicly hang its citizens is truly disturbing, and it is driving more and more companies away from Iran. The world is showing the regime that its violations of international law and human rights abuses will be met with consequences. As part of its "Cranes Campaign," UANI first called on Liebherr to stop supplying cranes to Iran in April, and noted that the government of Germany had expressed concerns about the possibility of Liebherr cranes being used by blacklisted Iranian shell companies to support Tehran's missile program. UANI's "Cranes Campaign" highlights the Iranian regime's abhorrent record of public executions by hanging its citizens from cranes. On July 6, Ambassador Wallace, in a Los Angeles Times op-ed, "Iran's Execution Binge," detailed the Iranian regime's use of foreign construction cranes for public hangings and called on Liebherr and other crane manufacturers to "take the principled stand of renouncing their business ties with the regime until Iran becomes a civilized member of the international community." Liebherr joins crane manufacturers Tadano, Terex, and UNIC in announcing an end to its business in Iran following the Cranes Campaign. Click here to learn more about UANI's Cranes 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.