The Move Follows a Call Last Week by U.S. Group UANI to Cut Ties with Iran
On Tuesday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement regarding Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK)’s decision to close its Tehran office in response to UANI, as reported by Reuters:
We applaud ClassNK for pledging to close its Tehran office. Once it follows through on today’s announcement to end its work in Iran, ClassNK will have closed yet another avenue for the Iranian regime to circumvent international sanctions.
We call on the Korean Register of Shipping and others to follow the lead of ClassNK, Bureau Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, and others and help impose an international shipping blockade on Iran. It is impossible for a shipping company to safely do business with Iran, given the regime’s well known history of deception, falsified cargoes, and arms shipments to terrorists.
Last week, UANI called on ClassNK, to close its Tehran office and stop certifying Iranian entities.
The prominent European shipping services Bureau Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd recently stopped certifying Iranian vessels in response to UANI.
UANI has highlighted the shipping industry as an area where the international community can further pressure Iran. In a March 17 Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, six UANI board members wrote that “the world must deny Iran’s access to international shipping, a move that would severely affect the regime given its dependence on global trade and seaborne crude oil exports.”
