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No deals with the Iranian regime!
What is Voest doing in Iran?

Rally at Voest’s shareholders meeting

Wednesday, June 7th, 9 am
Design Center Linz, Europaplatz 1

STOP THE BOMB, a coalition calling for tight sanctions on the Iranian regime, is going to voice its protest at the annual shareholders’ meeting of Voest at the Linz Design Center at Europaplatz on Wednesday, July 7th. From 9am, coalition activists will inform the shareholders about the character of the Iranian regime and the business ties of this well-known Austrian company with Iran. Simone Dinah Hartmann, spokesperson of STOP THE BOMB, announces to ask critical questions during the meeting about the size and scale of Voest’s business with Iran: "We would like to know how an Austrian company justifies its ties with a regime that denies the Holocaust, runs an illegal nuclear program, threatens Israel with annihilation and brutally oppresses its own population. We will ask if Voest intends to continue its business operations in Iran in spite of new UN and US sanctions and the planned tightening of EU sanctions."

It was back in the 1980s, when Voest - by the way successor of the former Hermann-Göring-Werke - hit the headlines after shipping Noricum cannons to Iran. In 2008/2009, the company’s turnover in Iran was about 45 mil. Euro. Böhler-Uddeholm, under the name of Böhler AG a central actor in the National Socialist arms industry during the Third Reich and now owned by Voestalpine, is also active in Iran today with its subsidiary Böhler International. It supplies the country with special steel via its proxy Khaneh Foulad Co.

Despite massive international criticism and efforts for tougher sanctions, the Austrian Chamber of Commerce also continues to promote further business with Iran. On July 14th, Günther Schabhuettl, a representative of the Chamber’s Tehran office, will travel to Eisenstadt to hold an "Iran information day" in order to help Austrian companies to advance their Iran business.

STOP THE BOMB activist Barbad Farahani points to the fact that every company active in Iran has to answer the question of how they can be sure not to finance the Iranian Revolutionary Guards: "The elite troops of the regime, which are responsible for the nuclear and missile programs as well as for the brutal oppression of the freedom movement, today control large parts of the country’s foreign trade: from the border traffic, to the container harbour Bandar Abbas, to the airport in Tehran."

Protest Rally:
Stop Ahmadinejad & Mottaki!
Stop courting the Iranian regime!

Sunday, April 25th, from 10:00 AM
Minoritenplatz, 1010 Vienna

On Sunday, April 25th, Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger will welcome the foreign minister of the Iranian regime, Manouchehr Mottaki, in Vienna. The coalition STOP THE BOMB strongly condemns the courting of this prominent figure of Tehran’s anti-Semitic regime; a regime, which organizes Holocaust denial conferences as a part of its foreign policy; a regime that threatens Israel with annihilation and does everything to achieve the means to carry out its threats. Mottaki gave the opening speech at the Holocaust denial conference in Tehran, which was also attended by Austrian Holocaust deniers.

The reception of Mottaki is also a slap in the face of the Iranian freedom movement, which again suffers a serious blow by the Austrian government. With Austrian exports to Iran on the rise last year, Austria again proves to be a most reliable friend of the Iranian regime. The reception of the Iranian foreign minister is a clear political upgrade for the largely isolated regime and thus knowingly undermines the international efforts to exert pressure on the Iranian regime.

We demand:
- No dialogue with anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers!
- Support the democratic and secular opposition instead of courting the regime!
- Immediate and harsh sanctions against the Iranian regime!

Prominent Europeans call for sanctions against Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps

A petition signed by prominent Europeans was launched today as part of a European-wide campaign to put the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on the terror list of the European Union. The petition’s signatories also urge the EU and its member states to ban trade, and encourage their countries’ businesses to cease economic activity, with entities associated with the IRGC.

The petition, launched by the European STOP THE BOMB Coalition, was signed by prominent intellectuals and writers such as French philosopher André Glucksmann and Austrian Nobel Prize Laureate Elfriede Jelinek, and former and current policymakers such as Frits Bolkestein (former European Commissioner and Dutch Minister of Trade and Defence, VVD-Liberals), Dr. Denis MacShane (former British Minister for Europe, Labour Party), Gianni Vernetti (former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and member of the Italian Parliament, ApI), Gert Weisskirchen (former foreign policy spokesman of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag), Julian García Vargas (former Spanish Minister of Defense and former Minister of Health, Socialist Party), Claude Goasguen (Member of the French Parliament, UMP), Ursula Stenzel (former head of the Austrian People’s Party delegation in the European Parliament) and many more.

Presentation of the book
"Verratene Freiheit – Der Aufstand im Iran und die Antwort des Westens"

With the editor Thomas von der Osten-Sacken (Wadi e.V.) and the author Wahied Wahdat-Hagh (European Foundation for Democracy)
Chair: Stefan Schaden (STOP THE BOMB)

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010, 8 PM
Urania, Terrassensaal
Uraniastraße 1, 1010 Wien (U-Schwedenplatz, tram 1)

No deals with the Iranian regime!
Protest at the shareholders meeting of Andritz

Friday, March 26th, 9:30
Congresszentrum, Albrechtsgasse/Ecke Schmiedgasse, Graz

NO SUPPORT FOR THE IRANIAN REGIME!
Protest rally against the celebrations for the 31st anniversary of the "Islamic Revolution" in Iran

Wednesday February 10th, 6 pm
In front of the residence of the Iranian ambassador to Vienna, Lainzer Strasse 28, 1130 Vienna (Tram 60)

On February 11th, the Iranian regime celebrates the 31st anniversary of the “Islamic Revolution”. As each year the Iranian regime will use that day to celebrate itself – also in Vienna. On February 10th, the Iranian ambassador will host an official reception at his residence. In our opinion, however, there is nothing to celebrate on this day apart from 31 years of resistance against this inhuman regime. 31 years of the “Islamic Republic” mean 31 years of internal and external terror: Persecution of unionists, of national and religious minorities, of student activists, homosexuals, women and oppositionists.

Austria still a sponsor of the Iranian regime

STOP THE BOMB criticizes visit of Iranian economic delegation in Vienna

The coalition STOP THE BOMB strongly criticizes the reception of an Iranian economic delegation, headed by the president of the Iranian Chamber of Trade, Industries and Mines, Mohammad Nahavandian, in Vienna. STOP THE BOMB accuses Austrian companies to expand their activities in Iran while international efforts for tighter sanctions to end the Iranian nuclear program have recently been growing. The reception of Nahavandian in the Austrian Ministry of Economics in Vienna clearly shows that Austria remains a sponsor of the Iranian regime. If his statement in the Austrian daily "Wiener Zeitung" proves correct and the trade volume between Austria and Iran in 2009 adds up to "nearly 600 million Euros", this would mean a 150 million increase compared to last year. STOP THE BOMB activist Hiwa Bahrami of the Democratic Party Kurdistan-Iran calls for Austria’s support of the Iranian freedom movement instead of courting the regime: "It will be hard to find partners in a free Iran in the future for those involved in deals with the present rulers in Tehran."

How to deal with the Iranian Regime?

Symposium in Vienna

Tuesday, December 1, 2009, from 5.30 p.m.
Haus der Begegnung Mariahilf, Königseggasse 10, 1060 Wien
(between Otto-Bauer-Gasse and Loquai-Platz, U3 Zieglergasse, Bus 13A, 14A, 59A)

Contributions by:

• Amir Taheri (Journalist, London)
• Ilan Berman (American Foreign Policy Council, Washington)
• Jana Hybaskova (former MEP, Prague)
• Simone Dinah Hartmann (STOP THE BOMB)

Austria as willing audience for Ahmadinejad

While about 300 people protested yesterday at a rally organized by STOP THE BOMB in front of the Vienna Opera House against the UN speech of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Austria continues its policy of appeasement and cooperation with the Iranian regime at the UN General Assembly. Right before the rally, head of 1st district and former head of the Austrian People’s Party delegation in the European Parliament, Ursula Stenzel, expressed her hope that the Austrian delegates would follow numerous other delegations and leave the hall during Ahmadinejad’s speech. In his message to the participants of the rally, the spokesperson for foreign policy of the Green Party, Alexander Van der Bellen, called upon the Austrian delegation to deliver a clear message of protest during Ahmadinejad’s speech. All these hopes were spoiled, however.

Report about rally "Stop Ahmadinejad!"

Occasioned by the address of the holocaust denier and President of the Iranian terror regime to the general assembly of the United Nations, about 300 people gathered in front of the opera house in Vienna on September 23. Their protest was directed against the policy of appeasement towards the Iranian regime and against the economic support of the dictatorship of the Ayatollahs and the Revolutionary Guards. The rally in one of the host cities of the United Nations coincided with a number of international protests. STOP THE BOMB, an alliance that has been urging harsh sanctions against the Iranian regime and the support of the opposition since late 2007 had organized the rally which attracted a remarkable number of protesters by Viennese standards. The event was supported by the Liberal Forum, the Greens “andersrum”, the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde, the Democratic Party Kurdistan-Iran and numerous organizations of students, Iranian exiles as well as Christian, Jewish and anti-fascist groups.

The Austrian-Iranian trade relations

• Austrian exports to Iran are secured by government guarantees from the administration. According to the Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG, Iran ranked number 5 in 2005 among those nations which profited from such guarantees. Since 2004 an Austrian-Iranian protection of investment and a double taxation agreement exists.
• On April 21st 2007 the OMV signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran concerning the completion of a joint natural gas project. According to the OMV the company will invest in parts of the natural gas field South Pars in the Persian Gulf, in a liquefaction plant and in subscriber agreements for liquefied natural gas. The company has not publicized any figures regarding the financial scope of the investment, but the Austrian daily newspaper “der Standard” reported that the contract with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) amounts to nearly 22 billion euros over the next 25 years. The OMV is Austria's top listed industrial company, the biggest oil corporation in Central Europe.