Ingersoll Rands pressed on Iranian ties

NEW YORK, March 4 (UPI) -- Industrial company Ingersoll Rand is under fire by a New York lobbying group for its business relationship with sanction-strapped Iran.

United Against Iran, the New York lobby group that pressured Caterpillar to rethink its Iranian relationship, called on Ingersoll Rand to disclose its relationship with Iran and sever ties with the country.

UAI maintains Ingersoll Rand does business in Iran through its non-U.S. subsidiaries. Ingersoll Rand is a manufacturer of air compressors used in the oil and gas industry and the nuclear sector and UAI is questioning what role such devices from Ingersoll Rand may have in the Iranian nuclear program.

Tehran in February announced plans to build a series of reactors and push for a uranium enrichment level of 20 percent, seen as a technological breakthrough for a nuclear weapon.

UAI said that it would call on the New York Stock Exchange to delist the company and pursue "appropriate" legal action "in the event Ingersoll Rand continues its business operations in Iran and fails to adequately disclose the risks of such business."

Washington forbids U.S. companies from doing business directly with Iran, leaving many countries to rely on foreign subsidiaries to use third-party dealers.