New York, NY, May 5, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on investors and banks not to buy or hold the "Pars Oil and Gas Company Participation Bonds" currently being offered by Bank Mellat of Iran.

"Buyers of these bonds are funding Iran's nuclear weapons program, terrorism, and the repression of the Iranian people by putting money in the coffers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "Every responsible investor and bank should avoid these truly 'toxic bonds.'  Holders of them will become Iran's unwitting partners in the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the promotion of terror."

According to documents for the one billion Euro offering, the bond sales will finance the development of gas fields for which the general contractor is Khatam ol-Anbia Construction Base, the principal engineering and construction company of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).  Khatam ol-Anbia has been designated by the European Union and the U.S. Treasury Department as a nuclear and missile proliferator, and the UN Security Council has sanctioned the IRGC for proliferation.

According to Bank Mellat, "These Participation Bonds allow all interested parties to participate in the development of South Pars phases 15 to 18."  Phases 15 and 16 were awarded in a no-bid contract to Khatam ol-Anbia in June 2006.

Bank Mellat has branches in Turkey and South Korea and its subsidiary, Persia International Bank, has offices in London and Dubai. Another subsidiary is located in Armenia. 

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.