UANI Calls for Increased Pressure on Iran's Collapsing Shipping Industry
IRISL: "If this Situation Continues, Certainly our Operations will Face Serious Problems ... More Pressure will Result in Greater Damage."
On Tuesday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement regarding comments made by the managing director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), who said that Iran's shipping industry is now suffering from economic pressure and "will face serious problems" and "greater damage" "if this situation continues":
The IRISL's statement confirms that economic pressure and international sanctions are having a tangible and debilitating effect on Iran's shipping industry and the regime. By ending the provision of insurance to Iranian vessels, compelling global classification societies to stop certifying Iranian vessels, pressuring countries to stop reflagging Iranian vessels, and sanctioning the supply of spare parts for Iranian tankers, UANI and the international community have made it increasingly difficult for the Iranian regime to export oil, access international trade markets, and ship weapons to its proxies in the region.
The international community must now pressure the regime even further, and demonstrate that it will face economic collapse unless it gives up its nuclear weapons program. The U.S. and EU should adopt measures barring vessels that dock in Iran or transport Iranian cargo from ports in the U.S. or EU. We also call on all countries worldwide to refuse to reflag Iranian vessels.
The statements by IRISL leadership demonstrate unequivocally that existing pressure is having a major effect. Increasing it now could make the difference in forcing Iran to choose between having a nuclear weapon, or having a functioning economy.
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."
The prominent shipping services Bureau Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, the Korean Register of Shipping, and ClassNK have all stopped certifying Iranian vessels in response to UANI.
According to Reuters, "the number of vessels calling at [Iranian] ports has dived by more than half this year."
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Source: United Against Nuclear Iran