German companies court Ahmadinejad. With nuclear technology!

Dr. Matthias Küntzel is a well-known expert of German-Iranian relations. He has published on this issue in DIE ZEIT, in DER TAGESSPIEGEL, in INTERNATIONALE POLITIK, in the WALL STREET JOURNAL und in the ISRAEL JOURNAL OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. His book  „Die Deutschen und der Iran. Geschichte und Gegenwart einer verhängnisvollen Freundschaft“ (The Germans and Iran. History and presence of a fateful friendship) was published in late 2009 in the wjs-publishing house, Berlin. Find more information on www.matthiaskuentzel.de.

Sanctions instead of EU-delegations!

STOP THE BOMB, January 5, 2010

STOP THE BOMB demands of European parliament to support sanctions against the Iranian regime

In light of the postponement of a visit to Iran by European parliament members, the European coalition STOP THE BOMB that meanwhile is active in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Austria, has published an advertisement in the "Wall Street Journal Europe". STOP THE BOMB urges the European Parliament to support the immediate implementation of European sanctions against the Iranian regime. Instead of giving legitimacy to the Iranian regime by visits of European parliamentarians, it is time now to impose severe sanctions, specifically against the Revolutionary Guards Corps, which will send the regime a clear message that Europe rejects the brutal oppression of the people and that it stands against Iran's quest to build a military nuclear program, which threatens Israel, the region, the West and the Iranian people. The advertisement of the "Wall Street Journal Europe" can be found here: http://at.stopthebomb.net/img/STB-Ad-WSJ-Europe-09-01-05.pdf

After international criticism about trade with Iran Siemens loses 300 Million Dollar contract in Los Angeles

STOP THE BOMB, 28 September 2009

Last week the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Los Angeles decided to give a 300 million dollar contract to Siemens´ competitor AnsaldoBreda, an Italian company with expertise in building light rail cars.

Among other reasons, the Munich based company Siemens was criticized for its Iranian business ties. In 2008 Siemens´ exports to Iran amounted to 438 million Euros (=640 million USD). Furthermore, the joint venture Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) delivered surveillance technology to the Iranian regime, the very technology which was used in the brutal oppression of Iran's democratic protest movement this summer.

STOP THE BOMB, a German NGO which calls for German sanctions against Iran, had strongly expressed their conviction - along with many other organizations like United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) - that a Los Angeles light rail contract should not be given to companies which have business ties with the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner had also urged Los Angeles County to penalize Siemens for assisting in the violation of fundamental human rights by selling spy technology to the Iranian regime.

STOP THE BOMB was involved in the exposure of the scandalous Nokia Siemens Networks deal as well. In this year's NSN’s January meeting of shareholders, STOP THE BOMB activists asked Siemens CEO Peter Löscher about the sale of the software to Iran.  He was forced to confirm that the sale of this spy ware was in fact made by Nokia Siemens Networks.

STOP THE BOMB spokesman Michael Spaney requested that Siemens “follow the example of General Electric and publicly declare of refraining from further trades with the Iranian regime.”

“The economic support of Iran's oppressive regime with Germany’s high technology - from Siemens and from many other German companies, has to be stopped”, said Michael Spaney. The bulk of Iran's economy is owned and controlled by its ruthless regime. There are estimates that about 70% of Iranian companies are owned by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Conducting business with Iran means in fact to directly support a dictatorial and antisemitic regime, which is on the brink of acquiring nuclear power.

Protest against meeting of the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce

STOP THE BOMB Hamburg, 10 July 2009

The »STOP THE BOMB«-coalition in Hamburg protests against the event on Iran-exports by the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts scheduled for Monday, July 13. On the occasion of the seminar on “import and export-certification for the Iran-business”, organized by the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce (DIHKeV), there will be a protest manifestation at 8.30 a.m. in front of the Chamber of Crafts-building at Holstenwall 12.

Andreas Benl, speaker of »STOP THE BOMB Hamburg«, declares: »That the lobbyists of the German trade with Iran continue with their business in full peace of mind, while the regime that they supply brutally breaks down the Iranian protest movement is an unbelievable scandal.” According to Benl this counted all the more as German economy was directly involved in the oppression within Iran: “The regime uses surveillance technology from Siemens as well as electric batons ‘made in Germany’.”

Especially the activities of the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce repeatedly been met with strong criticism at home and abroad. Just last year in November the private organization held a seminar at the Hamburg Kempinsky Hotel on how to do export business with Iran successfully despite sanctions. Among other newspapers the Jerusalem Post and the Wall Street Journal reported on this event. One of the invited speakers was a representative of the Melli bank, on which the EU has imposed sanctions. Also the latest statements by the Tehran representative of the DIHKeV, Daniel Bernbeck, stating despite the suppression of the protest movement he didn’t have “moral problems” doing business with Iran, caused international outrage.

For a long time the »STOP THE BOMB«-coalition has been demanding that exports to Iran should be restricted. Benl: “Germany is the by far most important Western trade partner of Iran. Sharp sanctions against the theocracy, as demanded by Iranian opposition groups, could severely weaken the regime. But no matter if the Mullahs beat down the population or threat Israel with annihilation – the consequences are nothing but empty words!”

****

You can find the call for protests here (sorry, only German). We would appreciate reports in your media. »STOP THE BOMB« (http://de.stopthebomb.net) is a non-partisan coalition founded because of the threat through the Iranian nuclear program. Its petition has been signed by many politicians and other personalities. In Hamburg »STOP THE BOMB« has amongst others protested against the seminar of the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce in November and participated in the demonstration “Hamburg for Israel”.

„Germany has a responsibility for the current situation in Iran. Sanctions and the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador would be clear signals.“

STOP THE BOMB, 19 June 2009

Today, Iran’s supreme religious leader Khamenei „definitely“ confirmed Ahmadinejad to be president-elect of the Islamic Republic of Iran and condemned the opposition in Iran to be enemies of Islam. (1) Now presumably a bloody abatement of the protest movement will follow. In this critical situation for Iran and for the whole world, a neutral position particularly for Germany is unsustainable.
 
Germany as the most important Western trading partner of Iran and therefore an economic pillar of the Iranian rulers has a partly responsibility for the current situation.
 
“Germany with her intense trade relations with Iran has the leverage in her hands. The German government has to send a unambiguous signal to the Iranian regime by imposing tough sanctions, which should make clear that the demands of the protest movement can’t be rejected and any further repression will have serious consequences”, says Michael Spaney, speaker of STOP THE BOMB. “An attitude of observant neutrality and ineffective declarations will encourage the regime continuing to violently oppress the protests.”
 
The protesters who just issued a 7 point program (2) have to define their aims for themselves, but every step in the direction of real democracy and human rights has to be supported by the West.
 
The expulsion of the Iranian ambassador to Germany, Ali Reza Sheikh Attar, would be another clear signal to the regime and the protest movement. Attar is a representative of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad and was like him involved in brutal crimes.

German-Iranian record deal shortly before presidential elections in Iran

STOP THE BOMB, 10 June 2009

This Monday the German company Basell Polyolefine GmbH signed a deal with the Iranian National Petrochemical Company (NPC). The agreement amounts to a record value of 825 million Euro. Basell Polyolefine will provide technology for three polyethylene facilities in Mamasani, Dehdasht and Borodshen in Southern Iran. Adel Nejad-Salim, Iran's deputy oil minister was present at the conclusion of the business transaction. (1) The Basell Polyolefine GmbH is a judicially independent part of the LyondellBasell company.  

„The deal before the presidential elections is a present for Ahamadinejad. The Iranian regime is encouraged by such deals to continue with human rights violations, the nuclear program and threats of annihilation towards Israel. Germany in this way undermines any kind of international pressure on Iran and the announced US-Iranian negotiations", says Jonathan Weckerle, spokesperson of the campaign STOP THE BOMB.

David Miliband, UK foreign secretary, has warned on June 8 that "time is running out" to stop the Iranian nuclear program and that the Iranian regime should be confronted with "increasingly tough sanctions". (2) Already on June 6 the French premier minister Sarkozy pointed at the possible necessity of tougher sanctions against Iran in autumn. In Germany, by contrast, the Iranian oil-minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari was invited by the German Near and Middle East Association (NUMOV) in May and campaigned for closer German-Iranian business ties without any public statement of criticism by the German Federal Government. (4) 

The campaign “STOP THE BOMB – No deals with the Iranian regime!” protests against the politically tolerated, if not promoted support of the Iranian regime by German technology-exports.

Sources:
(1) Compare: Persian news; News from June 9 2009 on http://iranoilgas.com/news/current/ (n o free access). A press speaker of the Basell Polyolefine GmbH on 9 June 2009 in a telephone conversation confirmed that the news were „not incorrect“. 
(2) Financial Times,  June 6 2009 
(3) Financial Times, June 8 2009
(4) Compare STB Press relase and Jerusalem Post.

Panel discussion with the Iranian ambassador in Leipzig has been cancelled

STOP THE BOMB, 3 June 2009

The campaign “STOP THE BOMB – No deals with the Iranian regime“ welcomes and appreciates the cancellation of the panel discussion „The German-Iranian relationship“, to which the Iranian ambassador in Germany, Ali Reza Sheikh Attar, was invited as speaker. The event was announced to take place in Leipzig on June 16 2009. (1) STOP THE BOMB criticizes that the organizers of the event, the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation (associated with the Green Party in Germany) and Eurient e.V., are still intending to “seek talks with representatives of the Iranian government”, as they wrote in a press release.(2) 

As STOP THE BOMB-supporter Prof. Micha Brumlik wrote in the German daily „taz“, the  long lasting dialogue-policy of the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation has „achieved nothing, while the leaders of the theocracy have resolutely continued their march towards a nuclear Iran“. The cancelled event „would only have enhanced the status of the representative of a totalitarian regime“. (3)

In his time as governor of the Kurdish areas in Iran between 1980 and1985, the Iranian ambassador was involved in numerous murders and severe human rights violations, as several sources from Iranians in exile report.

Additionally problematic was the fact that the ambassador's dialog partner should have been Johannes Reissner, Iran-expert of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). No critical position on the current state of Iran could have been expected from him, e.g. in a recently published strategy paper for the German Iran-policy he demanded a guarantee for Iran´s „regime security“. (4) 

„The notion to achieve something from a ‘critical dialogue’ with representatives of a murderous regime is at best naive. The panel discussion would have been a prestige success for the regime and a slap in the face of Iranian refugees and dissidents“, says Michael Spaney, spokesperson for the STOP THE BOMB campaign. The protests announced by STOP THE BOMB and the Coalition Against Antisemitism Leipzig have contributed to the cancellation of the event. (5)

STOP THE BOMB will continue to protest against all kinds of support for the Iranian regime, whether on the political, economic or cultural field.

German Government supports business in Iran of the Linde Group with Federal Credit Guarantees

STOP THE BOMB, Berlin 17 May 2009

The German Linde Group continues to do business in Iran's energy sector and is supported by Federal export credit guarantees known as Hermes Cover. This was Linde's board of director's answer to critical questions of shareholders at the annual shareholders meeting on 15 May in Munich. Members of the coalition STOP THE BOMB that is calling for effective sanctions against the Iranian regime protested in front of the International Congress Centre where the shareholders meeting took place.

Board member Dr. Belloni confirmed that Linde is involved in Iran's national gas liquefaction project (LNG) with the state owned National Iranian Oil Company. Belloni stated that the annual sales volume for Linde's business in Iran amounts to 91 Mio in 2008. The Linde Group endeavours to attract new deals in Iran's energy sector: A pre-investment study for an ethylene plant is transferred to the Iranian state-owned National Petrochemical Company (NPC).

Belloni rejected the accusation of working in close cooperation with Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). However, the webpage of Iran's LNG project mentions Linde AG as well as Sahel Consulting (Rah Sahel) to be parties involved in the project. Sahel Consulting belongs to the IRGC and has been included in the US list of banned terrorist groups. (1) Iran's Revolutionary Guards form the ideological and organizational core of the Islamic Republic and are backing the nuclear and ballistic programme. The IRGC are in control of up to 70% of Iran’s industry. It is therefore hardly possible to be involved in Iran's energy sector without direct or indirect cooperation with the IRGC.

Linde's projects in Iran were covered by Federal export credit guarantees, the volume in 2008 amounts to 16,5 Mio. Euro. "This policy of the Federal Government is noncredible and scandalous", said Ulrike Becker of STOP THE BOMB. While the German Government on the one hand time and again calls upon German companies to voluntarily abstain from business in Iran and chancellor Angela Merkel 2008 at the Israeli parliament spoke out for "further stricter sanctions" against the Iranian regime, the Government on the other hand supports business in Iran's energy sector through the cover of the so called Hermes guarantees. These deals directly support the Iranian government. "The huge revenues in the gas- and oil business are the basis of the Islamic Republic of Iran without which the dictatorial religious government could not survive", stated Ulrike Becker. STOP THE BOMB therefore calls upon the Federal Government to impose clear sanctions against business with Iran's military or energy sector that are distinctively regulated by law.

(1) See fact sheet: http://de.stopthebomb.net/en/start/germany/linde.html

Questions on Iran-business at Linde's annual meeting

STOP THE BOMB, 13 May 2009

The campaign „STOP THE BOMB – No Deals with the Iranian Regime!“ will attend the annual meeting of the German Linde AG on May 15 2009 in Munich and ask critical questions on the size and type of Linde’s Iran business. There are many signs that Linde is active in Iran and is supplying urgently needed technology for Iran’s energy sector. The energy sector is in the center of the international debate on sanctions, because that is where the regime is especially dependent on western technology. STOP THE BOMB will inform the Linde-shareholders and the public on the dangers of Linde’s Iran-business with leaflets and an protest stand on the Willy-Brand-Platz near the International Congress Center. 

A fact sheet on Linde’s Iran business and the questions that critical shareholders will ask can be found here. The answers to the questions will be published by STOP THE BOMB as soon as possible in a press release.

On May 5 this year Linde participated in a controversial German-Iranian business meeting, organized by the Near- and Middle East Association (NUMOV) with former chancellor Gerhard Schröder as honorary chairman. A letter written by the German ministry of economics to the NUMOV-chair says according to the Handelsblatt May 6 issue: “The event is in clear contradiction to the policy of the federal government and could cause serious damage in foreign relations.” The NUMOV-conference is only one example among many others haw trade-organizations and the Iranian government want to increase German-Iranian trade despite all conflicts with the Islamic Republic of Iran. “Who trades with the Iranian regime not only supports an Islamist dictatorship, but also weakens all international efforts to stop Iran on its way to become a nuclear power. The example of the NUMOV-conference shows that the policy of discouragement by the federal government without binding sanctions is not sufficient to prevent the transfer of technology to Iran”, says Jonathan Weckerle, a speaker of STOP THE BOMB.

Former German Ambassador to Israel Rudolf Dressler criticizes German-Iranian business meeting of the Near and Middle East Association – STOP THE BOMB announces protests in front of the NUMOV office in Berlin

STOP THE BOMB, 4 May 2009

The Near and Middle East Association (NUMOV) - the central promoting organization for the German-Middle East trade founded in 1934 - organizes the second large forum for the support of German-Iranian trade relations within the shortest time on May 5 2009. Rudolf Dressler (SPD), former German Ambassador to Israel, supporter of the campaign “STOP THE BOMB - Cut off trade with the Iranian Regime!“ and member of the advisory board of the NUMOV criticizes: “I do not consider it to be opportune to hold such advertising events just at the present time. The momentary negotiation period requires in fact that one makes clear to the Iranian regime which price it has to pay if it continues to offend the rules of the international community with its nuclear program."  

According to Dressler, the German public should be better informed about the menace by Iran, the broad German-Iranian trade and the possibilities of sanctions. "Visits of western politicians in Iran, like the one of Gerhard Schröder in February of this year thwart the current efforts towards a solution of the conflict, even if they are declared as private travelling.“ Ex-Chancellor Schröder is the honorary chairman of the NUMOV and has consistently argued against sanctions towards Iran.

The "NUMOV Energy Round Table - Focus Iran" which takes place on May 5 2009 in Berlin will be about deals in the energy sector, in which Iran is particularly dependent on German technology. Yet another German-Iranian economic forum organized by the NUMOV in Düsseldorf was held on April 27 2009 and was attended by „representatives of about 200 German companies and numerous Iranian industrial managers“, said the Iranian Ambassador to Germany, Ali Reza Sheikh Attar. According to Farsnews Linde, BASF, Lurgi, ThyssenKrupp, Siemens, ZF Friedrichshafen, Mercedes, Volkswagen und MAN are involved in „large infrastructure projects in Iran“. (1) Furthermore, plans of the Bayerngas GmbH to deliver technology for the gas sector to Iran emerged on April 16 2009. (2) 

The campaign STOP THE BOMB, which advocates for effective sanctions against the Iranian regime, will hold a rally on May 5 at 11.00 am in front of the NUMOV office in Berlin demanding “No business with the Iranian regime! No support for terror, dictatorship, Islamism and anti-Semitism!”

For all further information on the NUMOV event, the protest and the campaign STOP THE BOMB please follow this link: http://de.stopthebomb.net/start/deutschland/numov.html

STOP THE BOMB campaign protests against Iran deal of German gas company Bayerngas

Joint statement of five European organisations on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the proclamation of the "Islamic Republic" in Iran

On April 1^st, there will be activities in five European countries on the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the proclamation of the "Islamic Republic" in Iran

30 years of the „Islamic Republic Iran“ stand for 30 years of inward and outward terrorism: the persecution of labour union members, ethnic and religious minorities, student activists, homosexuals, women and dissenters. The Iranian regime has also been calling for the destruction of Israel for 30 years - not just since the inauguration of President Ahmadinejad – and frequently denies the Holocaust. Today it is on the brink of delivering on these threats by means of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

These developments and Iran’s support for international terrorism contribute to the destabilization of the region and jeopardizes prospects for peace in the Middle East. Atomic weapons would not only pose an existential threat to Israel, but would also lead to an arms race in the crisis-ridden Middle East.

The Iranian regime has systematically ignored international demands, including four UN Security Council resolutions, to disclose their nuclear program to the IAEA, and thus successfully played for time. Iran is undermining the international non-proliferation regime.

Therefore we call upon the international community to effectively counter the Iran nuclear program and stop the continuous oppression of the Iranian people.

Europe is Iran’s most important trading partner and the Iranian regime is dependent on European technology, know-how and investments. As such Europe has the obligation and the means to increase pressure on Iran.

We, as representatives from five different European countries —  Austria, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Spain — therefore:

• request European companies to stop all deals and investments which support the Iranian regime

We appeal to our governments:

• to decree sanctions which stop such trading
• to push for efficient and comprehensive sanctions on the EU- and UN-levels
• to support all democratic forces - both in Iran and in exile - which seek individual freedom, gender equality, secularism and the rule of law in Iran.

Organisations:

STOP THE BOMB Germany
STOP THE BOMB Austria
Iran Komitee, Netherlands
Infomedio & European Dialogue, Spain
ISISMO - Italian Institute for Middle East Studies, Italy

Click here to learn more about the activities of the five organizations on April 1st.

Call for Protest: Club of Iranian-European Filmmakers (CIEF) and STOP THE BOMB

CIEF and STOP THE BOMB, 11.2.2009

Protest rally against the film  „Letters to the President“ and the Berlin based film festival " Berlinale" as a forum for the Iranian terror regime

Thursday 12. February  6:00 pm
Berlin, at the movie theater CineStar in the Sony-Center at the Potsdamer Platz

The films approved for the festival by the Islamic Regime in Iran are nothing else but a brutal violation of universal women’s rights, which is institutionalized by the film festivals. In the Iranian film production the actresses are obliged to obey the rigid parameters of the Islamic censorship. During their appearances on the international stages of the festivals they also have to follow the Islamic dress code. By these means the regime tries to justify the forced veiling internationally and let it seem as a voluntary attitude.
Veils and headscarfs are central elements of the Islamic Regime in Iran. All women are forced to submit to these Islamic compulsive regulations. In Iranian films women are not allowed to behave normally. Fathers must not embrace or kiss their daughters. Mothers must not show closeness to her sons.
Finally, the enthusiasm of Mr. Kosslick about such films, which probably will be honoured with the award of the Berlinale, serves only the fact that the Mullahs brutally trample over human rights, above all the women's rights. In the last time 48 people were executed publicly, 3 were stoned to death. Homosexuals are constantly prosecuted, harassed and executed. Ahmadinejad belongs to the most hated politicians of the world. He demands the annihilation of Israel at every opportunity. The leader Khamenei recently declared by a fatwa that the Israelis are condemned to death. It is no secret that the regime trains and finances Islamic terrorists and equips them with modern weapons. And even worse, the regime obviously is striving for nuclear weapons.
That all does not keep Mr. Kosslick from allowing the president of this brutal regime Ahmadinejad to present himself as “human” and “popular” in the film "Letters to President".

Unfortunately, we must take note of the fact that under the direction of Mr. Kosslick the Berlinale has changed into a stage for anti-Semitism and for self-confessing Islamists like Ahmadinejad. By the „dialogue of the cultures“ the Iranian Regime means only the realization of the Shiite way of life, which they want to spread over the whole world.
Because of the fact that Mr. Kosslick is acting as an instrument of the Mullah Regime in Iran, we demand his immediate resignation. We support all artists who stand up for democracy and secularism. We demand the immediate stop of the so called “cultural dialogue” with the Mullahs in Iran!

Germany: Siemens continues business as usual with the Mullahs

STOP THE BOMB, 28 January 2009

On the occasion of the Siemens´ stockholder meeting on Tuesday in Munich´s Olympiahalle protests emerged against the business deals of the company with Iran. Worried stockholders and activists of the STOP THE BOMB campaign criticized the trade relations between Siemens and the Islamic Republik of Iran. The board of directors answered evasively to the detailed questions. Yet it became clear, that Siemens still continues business as usual with the aggressive Iranian regime. Siemens had to admit that it has a annual turnover of 438 million Euro, a figure which it didn´t announce publicly until yesterday´s shareholder meeting. 

Even in the last months, Siemens signed new contracts on exporting gas turbines to Iran. Press reports about Siemens backing out of the Iran business hence proved to be unfounded. Siemens still is strongly present in the energy sector, were Iran is dependent on high tech made in the west and especially Germany. For this reason sanctions in the energy sector are supposed to be highly effective.

Open letter to Mr. Löscher, Dr. Cromme - supervisory board chairman and CEO of Siemens AG

STOP THE BOMB Coalition, 27 January 2009

Questions about business with Iran for the Siemens AG Managing Board and Supervisory Board

Dear Mr. Löscher and Dr. Cromme,
Germany is the Islamic Republic of Iran's most important Western trade partner. Siemens has concluded contracts for various large projects in Iran in the last few years. According to Siemens, Siemens has recorded sales of €465 million with customers in Iran during the 2007 fiscal year.
 
We are sure you are aware that Iran is not like most other regular trade partners. One of the Iranian government's declared goals is to erase Israel from the map. Thanks to its nuclear weapons programme, Iran could soon be able to transform this threat into a reality. Iran is already jointly responsible for the murder of Israeli citizens, due to its massive support for the Hamas and Hezbollah terror organizations, including supplying them with weapons. Iran is currently the main obstacle to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the Middle East.
 
Today, January 27th, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the mourning of the dead mixes with the concern regarding the threat to Israel's existence, the country of the Shoah survivors and their descendants.  Iran's current pursuit of the atomic bomb is an enormous threat to Israel. There have been international attempts for years to divert the Islamic Republic from its dangerous course through sanctions. However, Siemens AG has maintained intensive trade relations with Iran for decades. Its Iranian branch employs over 350 people. Siemens refuses to provide concrete information about its current business relations and its Iranian partners.  

We demand you disclose all business relations with Iranian partners and that you suspend these relations as long as Iran continues its policies described above.
 
As shareholders of Siemens AG we ask you:  

• What was the trade volume between Siemens and Iran during the 2008 fiscal year?
• Which business transactions are planned for 2009 and to what extent?
• Which Iranian business partners do you currently work with? Is business being conducted with companies that are part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards? Maybe even with the Khatem-ol Anbiya Construction Organization, which has been on the EU sanctions list since June 24, 2008?
• Which business transactions with Iran are conducted through third party countries, such as the United Arab Emirates?
• What jobs do the more than 350 employees of Siemens S.S.K Iran perform? Why have new jobs been advertised in the Iranian Dependence?
• Has Siemens delivered 24 power plants to Iran, as announced in the media in 2005?
• Has Siemens delivered 200 traction vehicles to Iran, as the German Foreign Trade Association announced in August 2007?
• Did Siemens conclude a contract in December 2008 for the delivery of turbocompressors with a petrochemical factory in Zanjan?
• Has Siemens supplied Iran with modern surveillance technology for the electronic monitoring of opposition leaders and human rights organizations, as announced in the media in April 2008?

Dear Mr. Löscher and Dr. Cromme,
how is it possible that Siemens, which already profited from slave labor in Auschwitz and was also involved in other Nazi crimes, is now once again acting as an important mainstay of an anti-Semitic and terrorist regime? What does the Siemens Managing Board have to say about the countless human rights violations in Iran, the brutal destruction of trade unions, the violent suppression of women, the terrorizing of minorities and the murder of homosexuals, as well as the threat to Israel?
 
We expect to hear the answers to these questions at the General Meeting. We demand that Siemens and other German companies suspend their business with Iran and therefore stop torpedoing the international efforts for a non-military solution of the Iran conflict.

Manager-Seminar "Your succes in Iran" cancelled

STOP THE BOMB, 25 January 2009

Ladies and gentlemen,
The Manager-seminar "Your success in Iran" promoting business in Iran has been canceled after we announced protests! This is a success that gives hope, but much more has to follow. Instead of the protests there will now be a manifestation with speakers and info-table in the inner city at the "Hauptwache" from 4 to 6 p.m.

The following event will take place as planned: Public discussion on Iran, German-Iranian relations and the situation in the Middle East.
7 p.m., Jewish Community, entrance Westendstraße 43

Speakers:
* Greeting: Dieter Graumann, vice-president of the central council of Jews in Germany, Frankfurt
* Nasrin Amirsedghi, exil-Iranian cultural scientist, Mainz
* Ulrich W. Sahm, Jerusalem based Near East correspondent, Jerusalem
* Jonathan Weckerle, STOP THE BOMB campaign, Berlin
Chair:  Sacha Stawaski (Honestly Concerned e.V.), Frankfurt

Protest against a workshop of the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg

STOP THE BOMB Hamburg, 27 November 2008

Members of the German-Israeli Friendship Society, of the campaign STOP THE BOMB and of the Hamburger Studienbibliothek, a Hamburg-based political group combating anti-Semitism, demonstrated this morning with leaflets and banners against a workshop of the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce.

Due to fear of protests the workshop under the title "Iran sanctions and practical implications for German firms" at short notice was relocated to the Atlantic Hotel Kempinski. The protests criticized the workshop that was dedicated to support the »success of business in Iran«. Andreas Benl, speaker of the Hamburg section of the STOP THE BOMB campaign, explained: »The organizers want to convey the necessary know-how to business people who are interested in investing in Iran in spite of the sanctions. They want to improve business relations with the Iranian dictatorship and make them more profitable than they already are. In this way they are supporting a regime, that brutally represses women and minorities and works on the construction of an atomic bomb, with which the threat to destroy Israel could become reality.« One of the speakers is a representative of the Iranian bank Melli. This bank is in possession of the Iranian regime and is on the EU sanctions list since June 2008. To be engaged in business with companies like this bank means to directly support the dictatorship and to provide it with foreign currency that is needed for the continuation of the atomic program. Representatives of the hotel Kempinski, when confronted with these facts by the demonstrators saw no cause to distance themselves from their paying guests.

Benl added: »While the chancellor and the German Bundestag criticize the Iranian annihilation threats wordily, Germany at the same time is the biggest Western trading partner of Iran. In spite of widening the business relations it is necessary to finally isolate the Iranian regime politically and economically in an effective way – before it is too late for Israel!“ STOP THE BOMB demands the stop of the Hermes credit guarantees for exports to Iran and is calling for effective and comprehensive sanctions on a national, EU- and UN level. As long as sanctions are not implemented, STOP THE BOMB will, according to Benl, continue with the protests to disturb the pleasure of German entrepreneurs in their murderous business.

_{Please find a schedule of the workshop here: http://www.dihkev.de/pdf/scan.pdf
An analysis of the workshop of the Political scientist Dr. Mathias Küntzel can be found here: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/sanctions-what-sanctions-german-iranian-trade-booms/}

Start of the STOP THE BOMB Campaign

STOP THE BOMB, 28 October 2008

German STOP THE BOMB coalition demands: No deals with the Iranian regime! 

In Berlin on Tuesday, a broad coalition against the Iranian nuclear program was presented at a press conference. Stephan Kramer of the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland (Central Council of German Jews), Mohammed Schams of the Coordinating Council of German NGOs against Antisemitism, Ulrike Becker and Jonathan Weckerle, the initiators of the STOP THE BOMB coalition, presented the campaign.

The campaign’s petition has been signed by more than 120 prominent first subscribers. Among them are members of all parties: MP Josef Winkler of the Green Party and MP Petra Pau of Die Linke (the Left Party), former Federal Minister Dr. Heiner Geißler of the CDU (Conservative Party), two Members of the European Parliament (MEP Helga Trüpel and MEP Paulo Casaca), and 3 members of state parliaments. Also on the petition are Dr. h.c. Johannes Gerster (CDU), President of the German-Israeli Society, the Study Group of Jewish Members of the Social Democrats and Klaus Faber, retired State Secretary. Among the first subscribers are also Lala Süsskind, chairwoman of the Jewish Community in Berlin, prominent Human Rights activists of the international community of Iranians in exile Iraj Mesdaghi and Hassan Daioleslam, members of unions, scientists and publicists, representatives of the Christian-Jewish dialogue, the famous German actress Iris Berben, Nobel Prize Laureate for literature Elfriede Jelinek, and leading experts in Israel, the US and Germany on antisemitism.

According to Mohammed El Baradei, the General Secretary of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Islamic Republic of Iran could have a nuclear weapon already by Christmas, reported the Süddeutsche Zeitung last week. Germany is Iran’s most important trading partner and has therefore real leverage to stop Iran’s nuclear program, said Ulrike Becker of STOP THE BOMB.

Up to 75% of all industrial companies in Iran use German technology. Without spare parts from Germany, the economy of the Islamic Republic of Iran would be real trouble. While Nicolas Sarkozy from France and Gordon Brown from Great Britain were demanding more action from Europe, Germany has blocked unilateral European sanctions, stressed Ulrike Becker of the STOP THE BOMB campaign. German exports to Iran have increased in 2008 and could reach an all-time peak of more than 5 billion euros by the end of the year. This week another 25 million euro deal became public: The Uhde Gmbh, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp, signed a deal for a petrochemical plant with the National Iranian Petrochemical Company (NIPC).

By dealing with state-owned Iranian companies, German firms are financing the Iranian nuclear program: this delivers hard currency to the Iranian Regime’s purse of the Iranian Regime, said Jonathan Weckerle of STOP THE BOMB.

All the speakers stressed that those who trade with the unpredictable Iranian regime are supporting the oppression of the Iranian people, international terrorism, the nuclear armament of Iran, anti-Semitic hate crimes, as well as Holocaust denial. It is scandalous that the German Ambassador to Teheran allowed his military attaché to attend a military parade in September at which people shouted “Death to Israel”, Weckerle said.

The Iranian bomb would clearly be an existential threat to Israel in particular because since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iranian leaders such as Khomeini, Rafsanjani, and Ahmadinejad have repeatedly given inflammatory speeches calling for the annihilation of the Jewish State.

Former Iranian president Khatami, who spoke yesterday at the University of Freiburg, a town in southern Germany, also made blatant anti-Israel statements. He is falsely considered to be moderate by German representatives.

In 1998 he said: „We further consider the State of Israel as an old incurable wound in the body of Islam. A wound that contains really demonic, stinky and contaminating blood.”

Stephan Kramer emphasized that any trade or financial relations with the Mullah regime must be proscribed and condemned. Flirting with putative liberal forces of the Iranian government won’t bring any results, said Kramer. The West has to send signals to the Iranian people that it is serious about condemning Human Rights violations in Iran. Mr. Kramer particularly denounced the suppression of women. He criticized the fact that there is no outcry in the political administrations when minors are executed. Mr. Kramer cited Ali Khamenei, the religious leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who interpreted the current financial crisis as the downfall of the decadent West. This clearly showed that the dispute about Iran’s nuclear program puts at stake the very core of western democratic values. The West is called upon to defend these principles.

Kramer personally addressed German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, asking them how they can reconcile their speeches accusing Iran’s Regime of blatant antisemitism and calling the protection of Israel a duty for the German state with the current policy that is reluctant to enact effective sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Mohammed Schams, born in Iran and a member of the Coordinating Council of German NGOs against Antisemitism stressed the irrational character of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Even if it is hard for westerners to do so, they must take the ideology of the regime seriously. The Iranian administration believes in the return of the hidden Mahdi and sees itself as a deputy of this Shiite messiah not only in Iran itself but in the whole world. Therefore one cannot expect Iran’s government to act in a rational way when Iran becomes nuclear. Islamist ideology and the threats towards Israel make the atomic bomb in Iranian hands different from a nuclear bomb in any other country of the world. Schams criticized current European and German foreign policies for their appeasement of, and collaboration with, the Iranian terror regime.

The STOP THE BOMB coalition calls on the German government to impose effective political and economic unilateral and multilateral measures to isolate the Islamic Republic of Iran and to ban Hezbollah in Germany. Furthermore STOP THE BOMB demands German companies, especially the high-tech giant Siemens, to stop trade with the Iranian regime.