Foreign
automakers are supporting the regime in Iran by offering state-owned
companies access to advanced technologies that are often used for the
Islamic Republic’s military and security apparatus, a US-based pressure
group has warned.
United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI), which this month ramped up its
campaign to get foreign automakers out of Iran, says that Fiat, Isuzu,
Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Suzuki, Toyota and
Volvo either export to the Islamic Republic or have manufacturing
agreements with car companies controlled by the regime.
Iran’s domestic auto industry is the regime’s second most lucrative after oil and gas, and has boomed over the past decade-and-a-half, as the Islamic Republic deemed it a priority industry.
According to a report published this month by Business Monitor International, the Iranian government has placed increased emphasis on its auto business in an effort to create revenue in the wake of increasing US and European sanctions.
European and Asian automakers, including Renault and Fiat, have a large presence in the country, mostly through joint ventures with state-owned Iranian companies, who manufacture vehicles under license, usually by assembling imported ready made car parts.
However, UANI has accused foreign car manufacturers of aiding the regime by partnering with the Islamic Republic’s auto sector, by providing an enormous source of revenue, including directly to companies controlled by both the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO), both of which are sanctioned by the US and EU.
IDRO, the government body responsible for accelerating Iran’s industrialization, controls companies linked to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs including foreign procurement of technologies to aid them, according to Swiss sanctions legislation
