United Against Nuclear Iran

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is an advocacy organization closely tied to neoconservative and other “pro-Israel” factions that promotes a confrontational U.S. stance towardsIran, particularly with respect to its nuclear program. A program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, UANI’s aims include informing “thepublic about the nature of the Iranian regime”; heightening “awareness nationally and internationally about the danger that a nuclear-armed Iran poses to the region and theworld”; persuading “the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people”; and promoting “efforts that focus on vigorousnational and international, social, economic, political, and diplomatic measures.”[1]

UANI is closely allied with the Donald Trump administration, which has publicly supported the group in the face of international criticism over its activities. After Trump was elected, UANI claimed that the new president would be “positioned to swiftly pull the U.S. out of the Obama administration’s landmark nuclear agreement with Iran.”[2] The group has lauded Trump’s reported efforts to force companies to reconsider doing business in Iran and has pushed the Trump administration to put pressure on businesses seeking to re-enter the Iran market.[3]

2019 Spat with Russia

In early 2019, Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a rebuke of UANI over letters the group had sent to several Russian businesses. They requested confirmation that the businesses had or were in the process of terminating their dealings with Iran in response to U.S. sanctions. Calling UANI openly biased, the foreign ministry spokeswoman said, “We think such actions are unacceptable and deeply concerning. Attempts to pressure and threaten Russian business … are a follow-up on the dishonorable anti-Iranian cause by the U.S. administration.”[4]

Russia noted that while UANI is a non-governmental organization its leadership consists of influential figures in the U.S. foreign policy community, including former ambassadors and members of Congress. “The fact that such letters are sent by the NGOs and signed by the people who call themselves ambassador only degrade the state of the American diplomacy,” the spokeswoman said. “They only show the inability of Washington to comply with its international obligations.”[5]

UANI responded defiantly, stating that Russia was only upset because “UANI has been effective at convincing the business community that investing in Iran is dangerous and unacceptably risky.”[6] The Trump administration leapt to UANI’s defense. The State Department sent a tweet, stating, “Strong sanctions and economic pressure are working to isolate Iran’s regime—businesses worldwide should take note. [The] Russian government’s attempt to intimidate UANI and Ambassador Wallace are misguided and will not succeed.”[7]

National Security Adviser John Bolton—who had helped found UANI and was on its advisory board until he joined the Trump administration—was also quick to defend UANI. “Attempts by [the] Russian government to intimidate Ambassador Wallace and UANI are unacceptable,” he tweeted. “If President Putin is serious about stabilizing the Middle East, confronting terrorism and preventing a nuclear arms race in the region, he should stand with UANI and against Iran.”[8]

The close ties between UANI and the Trump administration notwithstanding, many observers were surprised at the strong and swift reaction of key figures in the U.S. government to what was a barely reported story, and a comparatively mild rebuke from Russia. One observer speculated that Bolton’s relationship with the group—and the fact that a closely connected group, the Counter-Extremism Project, had paid Bolton $165,000 from September 2015 until Bolton took his post as national security adviser in April 2018—combined with his and President Trump’s connection to prominent UANI funder and Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson “provide certain financial incentives for the national security advisor’s comments.”[9]

2018 Annual Summit

In September 2018, UANI held their annual summit and ten-year anniversary celebration just a few blocks from the United Nations, where the annual General Assembly meeting was in progress. The proximity and timing gave the impression of it being a counter to the UNGA.

John Bolton and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were UANI’s keynote speakers. Other speakers included the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, ambassadors from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the State department’s Iran point man, Brian Hook, former Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), former ambassador Dennis Ross, and other prominent foreign policy hands.[10]

At the UANI conference, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Washington, and the director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency all called for regime change in Iran. While praising the United States for pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, Yousef al-Otaiba, opined, “I think any recalibration of Iranian foreign policy will come from external policy.” He added that European and Asian countries must back the isolation of Tehran as well.

Brian Hook agreed. “We’re accumulating risk in the Middle East by not getting at Iran’s proliferation,” he said. “There is something brazen about this missile behavior, they’re not even hiding it. This sort of escalation is deeply concerning and will be met with a swift and decisive response.”[11]

In February 2018, after National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster controversially warned companies against doing business in Tehran—a statement in violation of provisions in theIran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA) that commits parties to “refrain from any policy” that will adversely affect trade normalization—UANI CEO MarkWallace enthusiastically endorsed McMaster. In an interview he said, “We fully support General H.R. McMaster’s call for businesses to comprehend the risks of engaging withIran. No business can be assured that by doing business with Iran, they are not engaging with the IRGC [Revolutionary Guard], which was recently sanctioned by the Trumpadministration for its support of terrorist activities. With the IRGC immeasurably engaged in Iran’s economy, businesses that choose to enter Iran run the risk of supporting anorganization that actively finances and carries out terrorist activity in the Middle East and across the globe.”[12]

Leadership

Former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a longtime neoconservative ally, serves as UANI chairman.[13] UANI CEO Wallace is a businessman and former diplomat who served as theGeorge W. Bush administration’s alternate ambassador to the United Nations.[14]

The group is led by an advisory board[15] whose members include several notable ideological foreign policy militarists like former Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) high-profile RepublicanParty figures like Jeb Bush, and former high-ranking foreign government officials. Gary Samore, an arms control adviser in the Obama administration, served as UANI’s presidentfrom September 2013 to August 2015. He stepped down after adoption of the 2015 nuclear agreement, which he supported though UANI opposed.[16] Wrote one commentator atthe time: “We’ve reached the point at which United Against Nuclear Iran has failed to persuade its own chairman that the deal must be derailed. A lobbying group that exists tooppose the deal has parted ways with its boss, who supports the deal.”[17]

Samore has remained on the UANI Advisory Board, which also has several figures from other major anti-Iran organizations, such as the Washington Institute for Near East Policy(WINEP) and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), including Dennis Ross, Ray Takeyh, and Michael Singh.

Core Activities

UANI employs a multi-pronged approach to isolate Iran economically and diplomatically, primarily by discouraging corporations from doing business in the country. On thelegislative front, UANI “develops model legislation for adoption by the federal government and U.S. state governments to sever Iran from international trade and financial marketsand prohibit investment in Iran.” According to its website, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 included several of UANI’srecommendations.[18]

UANI prominently promotes on its website an “Iran Business Risk” campaign, maintains an “Iran Business Registry,” and organizes petitions and “name and shame” campaigns. The group claims credit for persuading “such corporate heavyweights as General Electric, Huntsman, Caterpillar, Ingersoll Rand, KPMG, Komatsu” to suspend their Iran business, as well as for securing legislative victories in California, New York, and Florida.[19] The group also has a specialized “shipping campaign” to “embargo Iran’s shipping and portsectors.”[20] As part of this effort, it developed the “Maritime Intelligence Network and Rogue Vessel Analysis (MINERVA) system,” which tracks purported Iranian shippingvessels, to show how Iran has attempted to circumvent sanctions by clandestinely exporting oil.[21]

In an earlier campaign, UANI pressured New York hotels to deny lodging to Iranian officials visiting the city for UN business, including then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[22]

In addition to its business-oriented work, UANI also publishes reports and talking points on Iran and its alleged nuclear weapons program, promoting notions that the Center forResearch on Globalization has characterized as “propagandistic.”[23] Among its claims, UANI asserts that Iran is actively developing “nuclear weapons capability” and suggeststhat the country may have been connected to the 9/11 attacks — both ideas that have been strongly disputed by U.S. intelligence experts.[24]

Although UANI has generally avoided open calls for war, the group has on occasion explicitly promoted the use of military threats or action. In October 2011, for example, after the arrest of an Iranian-American for an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States in Washington, UANI called on President Barack Obama to “make itclear that Iran will face consequences for its actions, including military retaliation for attacks on Americans.”[25]

Much of UANI’s work has stressed the dominance of hardliners within the Iranian political establishment. The 2013 election of President Hassan Rouhani — a comparativelymoderate candidate who campaigned on reaching a diplomatic accommodation with the West — did little to affect the group’s posturing. “While the new Iranian President speaksthe language of conciliation, as it stands, the regime’s nuclear program and odious behavior continue,” read a statement on UANI’s website.[26]

UANI’s former president Gary Samore similarly attempted to lower expectations surrounding the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the group of world powers known as theP5+1 that followed Rouhani’s election. “What [the Iranians are] offering is really no different than what we’ve heard from the previous government, from Ahmadinejad’sgovernment for the last couple of years,” Samore said in October 2013, after the Iranians tentatively offered to cap their nuclear enrichment at 20 percent and submit to additionalinspections. “They continue to reject any physical limits on their enrichment capacity — meaning the number and type of centrifuge machines, the stockpile of enriched materialthat they have in country.”[27]

UANI characterized the interim agreement that followed the initial talks—which entailed significant restrictions on Iran’s nuclear enrichment in exchange for token sanctions reliefwhile negotiations for a comprehensive agreement continued—as a “disappointment,” complaining that the sanctions relief offered in the deal was “disproportionate.”[28]

The group’s attacks on the diplomatic process drew criticism from the Obama administration. According to Salon, “a former Obama administration official who worked closely onMiddle East policy” complained privately that “UANI and its allies ‘play the politics for the short-term but they don’t offer anything in terms of answers for the long term. … [T]hey’renot really interested in ensuring that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. Iran bashing for pro-Israel groups is very common, but I’m concerned that they don’t understand thatfailure to address this issue will ensure that Iran gets the bomb or we’re headed toward war.’”[29]

UANI opposed the comprehensive nuclear deal reached between Iran and six world powers in July 2015, announcing that it would launch a “multi-million dollar campaign toeducate the American people on the Iran nuclear agreement’s key deficiencies and weaknesses.”[30]

UANI’s decision to lobby against the Iran nuclear deal spurred its own president, Gary Samore, to step down from his post. “I think President Obama’s strategy succeeded. He hascreated economic leverage and traded it away for Iranian nuclear concessions,” Samore said at the time.[31]

Ideological Connections and Funding

UANI claims to be politically centrist, and its advisory board has included some prominent academics and reputed centrists, including Graham Allison, Walter Russell Meade, andLeslie Gelb.

However, the board’s membership has included a host of neoconservatives and right-wing nationalists, including former Sen. Joe Lieberman, a neoconservative Democrat who fellout with his party over his support for the Iraq War; James Woolsey, a former CIA director and high-profile neoconservative activist; Roger Noriega, a former U.S. representative tothe U.S. Mission of the Organization of American States; Henry Sokolski, a hawkish strategic weapons expert; Mike Gerson, a torture advocate and former spokesperson forPresident Bush; Mark Lagon, a former State Department official who later served as an aide to Jeane Kirkpatrick at the American Enterprise Institute; and Otto Reich, acontroversial Reagan-era figure implicated in the Iran-Contra scandal who maintains close ties to right-wing factions in Latin America.[32]

UANI’s CEO is Mark Wallace, a former U.S. diplomat at the United Nations, legal adviser to the Department of Homeland Security, and deputy campaign manager for the 2004 reelection campaign of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. The group advertises two original cofounders, both of whom were given high profile posts in theadministration of President Barack Obama: the late Richard Holbrooke and the controversial “pro-Israel” U.S diplomat Dennis Ross.[33]

UANI also claims to represent a coalition of like-minded advocacy organizations. Coalition members, according to its website, include Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran, the American Iranian Democracy Initiative, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, the Iran Task Force, Iran Watch, the Free Muslims Coalition, the Progressive American-Iranian Committee, the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, the Arcadia Foundation, and the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. Other partners includeneoconservative groups like the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Réalité-EU, as well as Republican groups like the Log Cabin Republicans.[34]

In July 2015, a journalist reported that “the top donors to UANI are a pair of trusts associated with the billionaire Thomas Kaplan and a family foundations operated by Republicanmega-donor Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam.” The report added that Kaplan and Adelson accounted for “more than three-quarters” of the group’s total revenue for 2013.[35]

The revelation of Adelson and Kaplan being UANI’s biggest sponsors also led the journalist to question UANI’s “professed non-partisanship.” He noted that Adelson gives “almostexclusively to the Republican Party” and that Kaplan gives to Republicans “at a ratio of roughly 10 to 1.”[36]

UANI reported a budget of just under $3 .4 million in 2015,[37] a significant increase from the $1.2 million it reported in 2013.[38]

Scrutiny

UANI’s political connections attracted considerable scrutiny in 2014 amid revelations that the organization possessed information considered sensitive by the U.S. government.

The story came to light amid a legal battle between UANI and Greek shipping magnate Victor Restis, who filed a defamation suit against UANI after it accused him and hiscompany of violating international sanctions against Iran and called them “frontmen for the illicit activities of the Iranian regime.” According to the New York Times, Restis and hisattorneys charged that UANI was under the sway of “unidentified foreign interests” — presumably Israel — and attempted to subpoena the group’s donor records, along withtestimony from an Israeli businessman and Meir Dagan, the former Mossad chief who has served as an adviser to UANI.[39]

In a surprise move, the U.S. Justice Department intervened to prevent the release of UANI’s donor records. According to the Times, “Government lawyers said they had a ‘goodfaith basis to believe that certain information’ would jeopardize law enforcement investigations, reveal investigative techniques, or identify confidential sources if released.” Thepaper called the Justice Department’s intervention “highly unusual” and noted that “American intelligence agencies are prohibited from secretly working with organizations toinfluence American public opinion and media. If the information does not belong to the government, it is not clear what makes it so sensitive … Either way, the court filingsindicated close ties between the American government and a group that has proved adept at pressuring the government and corporations to isolate Iran economically.”[40]

The news prompted speculation about what other information UANI’s donor records might contain. A 2014 media report UANI’s ties to a billionaire mining magnate. “Among thepieces of heretofore undisclosed information the Justice Department’s shield might prevent from coming to light is the connection between UANI and one of the biggest investorsin precious metals, Thomas S. Kaplan,” reported the article. It noted that UANI CEO Wallace has served concurrently as CEO of the Tigris Financial Group, which was describedas “an investment group controlled by Kaplan.” Other UANI employees have reportedly held positions at the Electrum Group, another Kaplan-controlled outfit.[41]

Kaplan is a major proponent of investing in precious metals as a hedge against political unrest. He and Wallace have counted “investments in precious metals they say will retainor appreciate in value in an unstable economic and geopolitical environment. By Tigris’ own account, it stands to make money in the case of ‘political unrest in the Middle East’ — exactly the kind of instability many experts think will become inevitable if naysayers of diplomacy with Iran [like UANI] have their way.”[42]

Although UANI’s website and public disclosures don’t mention Kaplan, he has specifically highlighted his connections to the pressure group. During a speech he gave afterreceiving the French Legion of Honor insignia from French Ambassador Francois Delattre in April 2014, Kaplan said: “A friends’ comment that one day our kids might ask what ourgeneration did when we knew what the Iranians’ intentions were prompted me to become part of something bigger. Hard to know what the outcome will be but I do know that asmuch as United Against Nuclear Iran may not have had Tomahawk missiles and aircraft carriers at its disposal, we’ve done more to bring Iran to heel than any other private sectorinitiative and most public ones.”[43]

According to the 2014 media report: “The published transcript of his remarks contained no mention of UANI or the comparison of the group’s work to advanced weaponry, presumably to be directed at Iran’s nuclear facilities.”[44]

A subsequent report in July 2015 confirmed that Kaplan was a major donor to UANI. It reported that “Kaplan’s business interests also present an interesting angle on his fundinganti-Iran advocacy like UANI’s … one of Kaplan’s mining concerns, the now-bankrupt Apex Silver Mines, Ltd., advertised itself in an annual report as a sound investment becauseof the potential for a ‘nuclear confrontation’ with Iran. Likewise with another silver venture called Sunshine Silver Mines: a 2011 investment prospectus talked up silver investmentsin light of ‘political unrest in the Middle East.’”[45]

 

 

[1] UANI, “Our Mission,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/about/mission.

[2] UANI, “Eye on Iran: Trump Faces Battle to Undo Iran Nuclear Deal,” https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/news/eye-on-iran-trump-faces-battle-to-undo-iran-nuclear-deal

[3] UANI, “UANI Warns President Trump of Fiat Chrysler’s Pursuit of Iran Business,” January 24, 2017, https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/press-releases/uani-warns-president-trump-of-fiat-chryslers-pursuit-of-iran-business

[4] Fahad Shabbir, “US Pressure On Russian Business In Iran ‘Unacceptable’ – Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, “ UrduPoint, February 22, 2019, https://www.urdupoint.com/en/business/us-pressure-on-russian-business-in-iran-unac-557803.html

[5] Joel Gehrke, “John Bolton defends United Against Nuclear Iran from Russian scolding,” Washington Examiner, February 23, 2019, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/john-bolton-defends-united-against-nuclear-iran-from-russian-scolding

[6] Press release, “UANI Responds to Russian Government’s Intimidation,” UANI, February 23, 2019, https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/press-releases/uani-responds-to-russian-governments-intimidation

[7] Department of State, Twitter, February 25, 2019, https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/1100098208796160000

[8] John Bolton, Twitter, February 23, 2019, https://twitter.com/AmbJohnBolton/status/1099320486046121984

[9] Eli Clifton, “Large Payments To Bolton Might Explain His UANI Tweet,” Lobelog, February 26, 2019, https://lobelog.com/large-payments-to-bolton-might-explain-his-uani-tweet/

[10] 2018 Iran Summit, UANI, https://2018iransummit.splashthat.com/

[11] “Saudi, UAE officials call for regime change in Iran at US summit,” Al Jazeera News, September 26, 2018, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/saudi-uae-officials-call-regime-change-iran-summit-180926120309913.html

[12] Benjamin Kerstein, “US National Security Adviser Warns Companies: Don’t Do Business With Iran,” Algemeiner, February 21, 2018 https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/02/21/us-national-security-adviser-warns-companies-dont-do-business-with-iran/

[13] UANI, “Senator Joseph I. Lieberman to Lead United Against Nuclear Iran as Chairman,” http://unitedagainstnucleariran.com/news/senator-joseph-i-lieberman-lead-united-against-nuclear-iran-chairman

[14] UANI, “Leadership,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/about/leadership

[15] UANI, “Leadership,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/about/leadership .

[16] UANI, “Senator Joseph I. Lieberman to Lead United Against Nuclear Iran as Chairman,” http://unitedagainstnucleariran.com/news/senator-joseph-i-lieberman-lead-united-against-nuclear-iran-chairman

[17] Steve Benen, “The amusing story behind Joe Lieberman’s new gig,” MSNBC, August 11, 2015, http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-amusing-story-behind-joe-liebermans-new-gig.

[18] UANI, “Legislation,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/legislation.

[19] UANI, “Our Initiatives,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/our-initiatives.

[20] UANI, “Shipping Campaign,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/shipping-campaign.

[21] UANI, “MINERVA,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/minerva.

[22] Howard LaFranchi, ” ‘Not welcome’ sign out for Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,” Christian Science Monitor, April 30, 2010, http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2010/0430/Not-welcome-sign-out-for-Iran-s-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad.

[23] Kourosh Ziabari, “Spreading Falsehoods about Iran: ‘United Against Nuclear Iran’: America’s War Propaganda Mouthpiece,” Centre for Research on Globalization, September 18, 2010, http://www.globalresearch.ca/spreading-falsehoods-about-iran-united-against-nuclear-iran-america-s-war-propaganda-mouthpiece/21089.

[24] See UANI, “Executive Research Reports,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/resources/executive-research-reports.

[25] Jim Lobe, ” Iranians Charged in Alleged Plot to Kill Saudi Envoy,” Inter Press Service, October 11, 2011, http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/10/iranians-charged-in-alleged-plot-to-kill-saudi-envoy/.

[26] UANI, “Rouhani: The First 100 Days,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/rouhani/100-days.

[27] Zach Pontz, “Former Obama Advisor: Rouhani’s Nuclear Offer No Different Than Ahmadinejad’s,” Algemeiner, October 17, 2013, http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/10/17/former-obama-advisor-rouhanis-nuclear-offer-no-different-than-ahmadinejads/.

[28] Eli Clifton, “Billionaire’s sketchy Middle East gamble: Meet the man betting on war with Iran,” Salon, August 11, 2014, http://www.salon.com/2014/08/11/billionaires_sketchy_middle_east_gamble_meet_the_man_betting_on_war_with_iran/.

[29] Eli Clifton, “Billionaire’s sketchy Middle East gamble: Meet the man betting on war with Iran,” Salon, August 11, 2014, http://www.salon.com/2014/08/11/billionaires_sketchy_middle_east_gamble_meet_the_man_betting_on_war_with_iran/.

[30] UANI, “UANI Announces National Advertising Campaign to Educate American Public on Key Elements of Nuclear Agreement with Iran,” August 10, 2015, http://unitedagainstnucleariran.com/press-releases/uani-announces-national-advertising-campaign-educate-american-public-key-elements-nuc.

[31] Michael Gordon, “Head of Group Opposing Iran Accord Quits Post, Saying He Backs Deal,” The New York Times, August 11, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/12/world/middleeast/head-of-group-opposing-iran-accord-quits-post-saying-he-backs-deal.html?_r=0.

[32] UANI, “Leadership,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/about/leadership.

[33] UANI, “Leadership,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/about/leadership.

[34] UANI, “Coalition Information,” http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/about/coalition.

[35] Eli Clifton, “Document Reveals Billionaire Backers Behind United Against Nuclear Iran,” LobeLog, July 6, 2015, http://www.lobelog.com/document-reveals-billionaire-backers-behind-united-against-nuclear-iran/.

[36] Eli Clifton, “Document Reveals Billionaire Backers Behind United Against Nuclear Iran,” LobeLog, July 6, 2015, http://www.lobelog.com/document-reveals-billionaire-backers-behind-united-against-nuclear-iran/.

[37] Eli Clifton, “Anti-Iran Deal Groups Backed by $145 Million,” LobeLog, July 21, 2015, http://www.lobelog.com/anti-iran-deal-groups-backed-by-100-million/.

[38] Guidestar, IRS Form 990, 2015, http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2015/262/387/2015-262387657-0d7cbc21-9.pdf

[39] Matt Apuzzo, “Justice Dept. Moves to Shield Anti-Iran Group’s Files,” New York Times, July 27, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/28/us/politics/us-justice-dept-moves-to-shield-anti-iran-groups-files-united-against-nuclear-iran.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Politics&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article.

[40] Matt Apuzzo, “Justice Dept. Moves to Shield Anti-Iran Group’s Files,” New York Times, July 27, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/28/us/politics/us-justice-dept-moves-to-shield-anti-iran-groups-files-united-against-nuclear-iran.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Politics&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article.

[41] Eli Clifton, “Billionaire’s sketchy Middle East gamble: Meet the man betting on war with Iran,” Salon, August 11, 2014, http://www.salon.com/2014/08/11/billionaires_sketchy_middle_east_gamble_meet_the_man_betting_on_war_with_iran/.

[42] Eli Clifton, “Billionaire’s sketchy Middle East gamble: Meet the man betting on war with Iran,” Salon, August 11, 2014, http://www.salon.com/2014/08/11/billionaires_sketchy_middle_east_gamble_meet_the_man_betting_on_war_with_iran/.

[43] Eli Clifton, “Billionaire’s sketchy Middle East gamble: Meet the man betting on war with Iran,” Salon, August 11, 2014, http://www.salon.com/2014/08/11/billionaires_sketchy_middle_east_gamble_meet_the_man_betting_on_war_with_iran/.

[44] Eli Clifton, “Billionaire’s sketchy Middle East gamble: Meet the man betting on war with Iran,” Salon, August 11, 2014, http://www.salon.com/2014/08/11/billionaires_sketchy_middle_east_gamble_meet_the_man_betting_on_war_with_iran/.

[45] Eli Clifton, “Document Reveals Billionaire Backers Behind United Against Nuclear Iran,” LobeLog, July 6, 2015, http://www.lobelog.com/document-reveals-billionaire-backers-behind-united-against-nuclear-iran/.