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MTN to continue business in Iran
30 January 2012
South African operator will not exit from Irancell holding despite US pressure to pull out over Iran’s nuclear actions
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MTN
Iran
Irancell
South Africa
MTN has decided against withdrawing services from Iran, despite a US lobby group campaign urging it to exit its operations in the country, reported the Wall Street Journal. European countries and the US are currently strengthening their sanctions against Iran in response to the nation’s nuclear programme.
MTN, which owns 49% of mobile operator Irancell, said that its operations in the region are going on as usual, adding that it is already monitoring the recent events in the country. According to the WSJ, South African communications minister Dina Pule has said that her department does not intend to compel MTN to pull out of Iran.
The lobby group United Against Nuclear Iran had recently written to MTN's CEO Sifiso Dabengwa, informing him that his firm is helping Iran track down mobile users, thereby violating human rights, reports the WSJ. GTB
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