Obama, McCain investments tied to Iran

WASHINGTON, June 3 (UPI) -- U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have not followed their own advice to avoid investments in Iran, financial statements show.

In a speech Monday, McCain told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that the more investors "divest from companies doing business with Iran, the radical elite who run that country will become even more unpopular," USA Today reported Tuesday.

However, a trust controlled by his wife Cindy included more than $315,000 in J.P. Morgan mutual funds that include investments in three foreign oil companies that do business in Iran, the report said.

Last year, Obama sponsored a bill that would help states redirect their Iranian investments.

But recent financial disclosures point to investments of more than $100,000 in the Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund, which includes investments in foreign oil companies that work in Iran.

Obama plans to sell those assets Tuesday, the candidate's spokesman Ban LaBolt said.

Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, has her funds in a blind trust, which shields her from knowledge of where the funds are invested, the report said.