Making Mullah Mobiles: Bailed-out GM owns stake in French car company with ties to Iran

by Adam Kredo, The Washington Free Beacon December 17, 2012

A French car manufacturer that is partially owned by the taxpayer-funded General Motors Company (GM) claims to have ceased its longtime business dealings with Iran, though experts have cast doubts on this claim.

GM owns a seven percent stake in PSA Peugeot Citroën, which has faced intense scrutiny for its business relationship with Iran.

Peugeot has long been one of Iran's central auto partners, providing parts and technology to Iran's leading car manufacturer, Khodro Company. Khodro is believed to have economic ties to the regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Although Peugeot and GM maintain the manufacturer "suspended" shipments to Iran in March, sanctions experts argue that the relationship has continued to flourish behind the scenes.

"We are still quite concerned with Peugeot's business in Iran," said Nathan Carleton, spokesperson for United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), a nonpartisan advocacy group that pressures international companies to cease dealings with Tehran.

"While Peugeot has claimed to have suspended shipments to Iran, numerous reports show that parts are still arriving there and automobiles still being produced-since March 2012 more than 100,000 Peugeot vehicles have been produced in Iran," Carleton said.

Peugeot's alliance with Iran is of particular concern to UANI and other observers due to GM's stake in the corporation. ...

A GM spokesperson did not respond to a Washington Free Beacon request for comment.

Reports indicate that Peugeot's cars were still being sold in Iran as recently as November.

Peugeot's claim to have "suspended" its business with Iran does not go far enough, said UANI's Carleton.

"Peugeot has never said that it will permanently leave Iran or taken any sort of stand against the Iranian regime," he said. "At best Peugeot has announced temporary suspensions of shipments but vowed that they might resume in a few months. That is not the point of sanctions or our campaigns. Peugeot must pull out of Iran." ...

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Click here to read UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace's Detroit News Op-Ed, "Why is U.S.-owned GM partnering with company that does business with Iran?"

Click here to watch Ambassador Wallace testify about Peugeot and GM to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Click here to read UANI's April 10 letter to Peugeot.

Click here to read UANI's March 9 letter to Peugeot.

Click here to read UANI's March 9 letter to GM.

Click here to send a message to Peugeot and GM.

Click here to visit UANI's "Auto Campaign" page.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.