Arcadia Foundation

United Against Nuclear Iran, (UANI), an organization of which the Arcadia Foundation is a proud coalition member, yesterday renewed its call for Caterpillar to end its business in Iran. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Department of Treasury recently announced that it was taking action to implement existing sanctions against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). OFAC designated specifically Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, an engineering arm of the IRGC that is involved in numerous construction projects in Iran.

United Against Nuclear Iran last week called on Caterpillar to cease doing business in Iran. Given the nature of Caterpillar’s construction and engineering work, it is impossible for Caterpillar to have a presence in Iran without doing business with the IRGC. Caterpillar’s subsidiary, Lovat, is a tunnel-boring company that has completed projects in Iran. Many international bodies claim Iran has indeed used tunnels to hide its nuclear facilities. Caterpillar’s equipment is also used in extensively in Iran’s hydrocarbon industry which is controlled by the IRGC.

“As the IRGC consolidates control over broad swaths of the Iranian economy, displacing ordinary Iranian businessmen in favor of a select group of insiders, it is hiding behind companies like Khatam al-Anbiya and its affiliates to maintain vital ties to the outside world,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey. “The action exposing Khatam al-Anbiya subsidiaries will help firms worldwide avoid business that ultimately benefits the IRGC and its dangerous activities.”

In a letter to the CEO of Caterpillar dated February 11, 2010, UANI President Ambassador Mark D. Wallace wrote: ”Following my letter to you of February 4, 2010, on February 10, 2010, the United States Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control took steps to designate certain Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) related entities… As you will see, the emphasis on these most recent Treasury designations is on IRGC related entities in Iran that are involved in the construction industry…. As we suggested previously, there is simply no reasonable manner by which Caterpillar may ensure that its heavy equipment sold into Iran is not used by the IRGC. Caterpillar must stop doing business in Iran…Caterpillar must bear responsibility for the sale of its equipment into the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism that seeks nuclear weapons.”

Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Philip J. Crowley added today that he was skeptical as to the accuracy of Iran’s claims of nuclear enrichment capabilities.

“I’m not a scientists but I think there are questions about what Iran’s true capability is,” Crowley said, adding that Iran has “been boasting number of things for a couple of years, but we are taking their words seriously. It seems as a violation of the UN Security Council resolution.“

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