Huawei Technologies brushed off renewed pressure from US lawmakers demanding an investigation into its telecoms business in Iran Wednesday, calling accusations of sanctions violations “groundless”.
Six US Congressmen wrote a letter to the State Department demanding an investigation into whether Huawei and other telecoms companies violated a 2010 Iran sanctions law by supplying sensitive technology to Iran, according to a Reuters report Wednesday.
A Huawei spokesperson told Reuters the latest allegations were “nothing new” and that US lawmakers were citing “inaccurate media reports that include groundless allegations.”
The letter – dated December 22, but only made public this week – cites a Wall Street Journal report in October 2011 that the Iranian government used the technology to censor information.
Huawei responded to the same report in November 2011, denying it supplied any technology that can be used for news censorship or web monitoring.
A month later, Huawei announced it would “voluntarily restrict its business development there [Iran] by no longer seeking new customers and limiting its business activities with existing customers” in light of “the increasingly complex situation in Iran.”
Despite the move, the firm insists its business in Iran has always fully complied with “all applicable laws and regulations including those of the UN, US and EU.”