Renault, Nissan urged to stop business with Iran

UANI urges Renault and Nissan to follow the West’s sanctions against Iran A US advocacy group has called on French automaker Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan to terminate their transactions with Iran over allegations against Tehran’s nuclear energy programme.
In a Wednesday open letter to Renault-Nissan Alliance's Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) repeated the West’s allegations that Iran’s nuclear energy program incorporates military objectives and described the alliance’s dealings in Iran as a “direct support” for the purported military dimension, AFP reported.
Iran has repeatedly refuted the Western allegations, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to peaceful use of nuclear technology.
The letter was signed by Mark Wallace, the UANI president and the former US ambassador to the UN.
In defiance of the West’s economic embargoes against Tehran, Renault has nearly doubled its production in Iran from about 50,000 vehicles in 2010 to 93,578 in 2011, UANI said.
The UANI request comes on top of a recent letter of warning by the group to another French car manufacturer, PSA Peugeot, over the company’s strong business ties with Iran.
The group pointed to PSA Peugeot’s outstanding market position in Iran and called on US Congress to launch a probe into the automaker’s transactions with Iran.
The US and the EU have used the nuclear allegations to impose international and unilateral sanctions against Iran.
On January 23, EU foreign ministers approved new sanctions against Iran, aimed at banning member countries from importing Iranian crude oil and carrying out transactions with its central bank.
The EU’s decision followed the imposition of similar sanctions by Washington on Iran’s energy and financial sectors on New Year’s Eve.