UN General Assembly Campaign

UANI organizes and leads efforts to raise awareness during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) of the threat the Iranian regime poses to international security and stability.  As part of this effort, UANI has called on New York area hotels and venues to not host the Iranian delegation in New York City. UANI and its supporters have successfully urged a number of venues to decline accommodations and event space for the Iranian President and other regime members.

2016

  • UANI hosted its Iran Risk Summit on September 19, 2016 in New York.  The Summit successfully brought together a diverse group of major American, European, and Middle Eastern leaders to discuss the growing military and economic threats posed by the Iranian regime one year after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement took effect.  UANI also launched an advertising campaign including dozens of kiosk ads surrounding the United Nations Headquarters, ads running on 125 New York City taxi cabs, and geo-targeted digital ads serving millions of impressions in the area. The ads demanded that when Iranian leaders, namely President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, are in New York, they renounce Iran’s hateful “Death to America” slogan.

2014

  • In 2014, UANI released a resource on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s World Against Violence and Extremism (WAVE) initiative. During his 2013 speech before the UN General Assembly, Rouhani cynically proposed WAVE, ostensibly to promote “tolerance over violence, progress over bloodletting, justice over discrimination, prosperity over poverty, and freedom over despotism.  Unfortunately, the ideals espoused under WAVE in no way comport with the record of Rouhani’s government. Rather, WAVE is a rhetorical ploy to mask the Iranian regime’s 35-year record of violence and extremism.

2013

  • ONE UN New York

    In 2013, UANI broke the news that the Iranian delegation would be staying at the ONE UN New York hotel (formerly known as the Millennium UN Plaza, of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels). In the lead up to President Rouhani’s arrival, UANI secured commitments from New York hotels to not host the Iranian delegation.

    In May 2010, ONE UN hosted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference

2012

  • Warwick New York Hotel

    In 2012, the Warwick New York Hotel had the shameful distinction of hosting Ahmadinejad for the second consecutive year. As in previous years, UANI broke the news about where Ahmadinejad was staying and alerted UANI supporters, the media and the public. As a result, the Warwick Hotel and its General Manager, Drew Schlesinger, were widely condemned and exposed to negative coverage in the media and severe reputational harm. In response to the Warwick's continued misconduct, UANI re-launched its boycott of the Warwick International Hotels group, led protests at the Warwick and relocated its headquarters to within the hotel during the duration of Amadinejad's visit.

2011

  • Warwick New York Hotel

    For the 2011 UNGA, UANI was the first to learn that the Warwick New York Hotel would be accommodating Ahmadinejad. In response, UANI launched a boycott of the Warwick International Hotels group and relocated its headquarters to the Warwick Hotel for the remainder of Ahmadinejad’s visit to better coordinate protest activities. UANI’s actions resulted in in significant reputational and financial harm for the Warwick Hotel.

2010

  • Hilton Manhattan East

    During the 2010 UNGA, UANI effectively quarantined President Ahmadinejad to The Hilton Manhattan East Hotel, the one hotel in New York that agreed to accommodate the Iranian delegation. UANI launched a boycott of all Hilton Hotels properties and held a rally outside of his hotel. Responding to UANI pressure, the Hilton Manhattan East has decided not to host Ahmadinejad for the 2011 UNGA.

  • Millennium UN Plaza Hotel

    On May 2, UANI launched a campaign against the Millennium in response to its decision to host Ahmadinejad for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. Ahmadinejad exploited his appearance at the conference to rail against the West.

2009

  • Intercontinental The Barclay

    During the 2009 UNGA, Ahmadinejad was effectively quarantined to the InterContinental The Barclay, the one hotel in New York that agreed to accommodate the Iranian delegation. Responding to UANI pressure, the Intercontinental has not hosted the Iranian delegation since.

  • The New York Helmsley Hotel

    On September 18, at the urging of UANI supporters, The New York Helmsley Hotel cancelled a long-planned banquet in which Ahmadinejad was scheduled to attend and speak. Howard Rubenstein, spokesman for Helmsley Properties, stated, "Neither the Iranian Mission nor President Ahmadinejad is welcome at any Helmsley facility. The Helmsley organization is grateful to United Against Nuclear Iran for bringing this matter to its attention so that appropriate action could be taken.

  • Gotham Hall

    On September 21, in response to UANI’s campaign, Gotham Hall cancelled a proposed speech of Ahmadinejad. In a statement, David Miller, a representative of Apple Core Holdings, the parent company of Gotham Hall, said, "Once we learned of the nature of this event and the attendance of President Ahmadinejad, we took steps to cancel the event."

  • Jumeirah Essex House

    On September 23, the Essex House cancelled a scheduled dinner for Ahmadinejad. The hotel stated "that no accommodation or banqueting facilities have been booked at the Essex House for the president of Iran or members of his delegation." The Essex House was the third venue in a week to bow to the pressure of UANI and its supporters.