New York City is on the way to becoming the first municipality to get rid of investments in companies that deal with Iran, the New York Jewish Week reported. City Comptroller William Thompson reportedly is considering selling off part of $95 billion pension funds as part of the divestment imitative. Several states already have taken similar measures.
The pension funds' investments include most of 18 companies that have invested in Iran and may be subject to United States sanctions. The companies include Royal Dutch Shell and energy companies based in Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy and Japan. American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) previously has unsuccessfully lobbied the city to sell off investments of companies dealing with Iran.