Fact Check: MTN’s Iran Connections Known Before Plouffe Speech
White House Spokesman Jay Carney Denied That White House Advisor David Plouffe Should Have Known About MTN’s Connections To Iran, Saying It Was “Several Years Ago Prior To The Dynamic We Have Now With In Regards To Sanctions And Companies Like This.” ABC’S JONATHAN KARL: “President Obama came into office talking about a higher standard. Is there any concern about this kind of, you know - $100,000 in Nigeria to a South African company. I mean it was widely reported, it had been reported even in The New York Times that they had business dealings with Iran. Is there any concern at all about this?” WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY: “I’m not sure I understand the nature of your question. This was prior to David Plouffe coming to office here working in the White House. It was before the watchdog group had even made an issue of this particular holding company. And again, this is political criticism after the fact that’s clearly designed to try to score some points when this was several years ago prior to the dynamic we have now with in regards to sanctions and companies like this.” (White House Press Briefing, Washington, D.C., 8/6/12)
The White House Spin Ignores MTN’s Long-Known History Of Aiding The Iranian Regime’s Crackdown On Its Own People
November 2005 – MTN Group Reaches A Deal With Iran’s Government For A Cellphone License And 49 Percent Stake In Irancell. “MTN paid (EURO)300m for the second cellphone license in Iran after it agreed with local shareholders to take a 49% stake in IranCell. Iran’s government was in the process of issuing the license, said MTN, whose shares hit a fresh high of R61,70 on the news.” (Lesley Stones, “MTN’s Iran Deal Bulks Up Share Price,” Business Day [South Africa], 11/23/05)
2006 – In State Department Cables MTN’s Iranian Affiliate, MTN Irancell, Was Referred To As Being “Fully Owned” By The Iranian Revolutionary Guard. “In 2006, Stuart Levey, then undersecretary of the Treasury and the point man on Iran sanction enforcement in the Bush administration — a job he also held for two years under Obama — told Turkish officials that Irancell was ‘fully owned’ by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a State Department cable made public by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.” (Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten, “Obama Associate Got $100,000 Fee From Affiliate Of Firm Doing Business With Iran,” The Washington Post, 8/6/12)
