Iran Lodges Complaint against US Sanctions on Persian Carpets: Official


Iran Lodges Complaint against US Sanctions on Persian Carpets: Official

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The head of Iran National Carpet Center (INCC) deplored the US sanctions on hand-woven Persian carpets as a breach of international protocols and said the Islamic Republic has filed complaints against the embargoes.   

“Hand-woven Persian carpet belongs to the Iranian nation and is part of the national, cultural and intellectual identity of the Iranian people,” Fereshteh Dastpak told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

“No country has the right to impose sanctions on the Iranian nation’s national identity,” the official added.

She denounced the US sanctions on the Persian carpets as a violation of international protocols and said Iran has lodged complaints with the United Nations and other international organizations against the US.

Dastpak made the remarks after the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department revoked the license for the imports of Iranian-origin carpets and foodstuffs, including pistachios and caviar.

The move came in line with US President Donald Trump's hostile policy on Iran a few months after he withdrew his country from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The US was the biggest buyer of Iranian carpets and imported hand-woven rugs worth $80 million annually before the imposition of sanctions.

Iran resumed carpet exports to the US after the lifting of anti-Iran bans under the JCPOA in 2016.

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