- 2 December 2009
- 1 Comments
- Sanctions, Uncategorized
California to Divest Iran Investments
2 December 2009 Posted By Matt Sugrue
The Associated Press is reporting that insurance companies that do business in California are being asked to withdraw any of their finances currently invested in Iran. A probe conducted by California’s Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has revealed that insurance companies in the state have $12 billion invested in Iran.
Poizner has said that he is currently asking insurance companies to voluntarily divest their funds from the Islamic Republic; however, if companies do not heed his request within 120 days, then Poizner will seek a court order requiring divestment.
According the report, Poizner is looking for support from insurance commissioners in other states. Insurance companies have argued against a piecemeal approach to divestment, and suggest that such an approach will disrupt the foreign policy plans of the federal government. However, it appears that a state-by-state divestment may be already underway, since,
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, secretary-treasurer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, said he is consulting other states’ commissioners to see if it is practical to develop a national effort similar to California’s.
“We ought to do it through the states, but in a coordinated fashion,” said Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario, who also is considering a divestment push.
The probe conducted by Poizner did not discover direct investments in Iran’s financial sector by any of the insurance companies, and the $12 billion in investments are through indirect means.
One Response to “California to Divest Iran Investments”
Cyrus Safdari has an interesting take on these types of sanctions, their advocates, the pro-Zionist lobby, their ultimate goal and the cost to ordinary Americans.
http://www.iranaffairs.com/iran_affairs/2009/12/so-apparently-the-pro-israeli-lobby-havecontinued-pressuringus-states-to-divest-from-companies-that-do-business-with-iran.html