Iran blocks U.S. goods imports upon Khameini’s order

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

The Islamic Republic, which has long had hostile relations with the United States, has applied a blockade on U.S. goods.

Iran's Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, in a directive to his deputies on November 5, ordered to implement the blockade on imports of consumer goods from the United States, Press TV reported.

Nematzadeh ordered all related agencies to prevent the importing of American goods, noting that they represent a symbolic presence of the U.S. in Iran in shops and stores across the country.

The decision to block the import of U.S. goods followed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s, warning against importing American consumer goods.

Khameini issued a directive to his government and people to not purchase American goods.

Nematzadeh said the blockade is based on what Khamenei emphasized in his recent letter to President Hassan Rouhani regarding the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - Iran’s nuclear accord reached in July with the world powers.

President Rouhani wrote back to Ayatollah Khamenei, confirming that his government would observe the Leader's guidance and considerations.

Iran's imports from the U.S. reportedly reached $140 million in the first half of 2015, some 60 percent higher than in the same period in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Most of the products Iran imports from the U.S. are medical equipment, food and seeds, though the bulk of contraband cigarettes in Iran are U.S. brands. The ISNA news agency reported this spring that as many as 6 – 7 billion Marlboro cigarettes are smoked annually in Iran.

The Iranian media reported that American products often find their way into the Iranian marketplace through back channels. There are also other routes, such as licensing work-arounds and direct trade for goods not covered by U.S. sanctions, which result in American products being sold in the Iranian market.

However, it seems at least two major American companies that won't be affected by the blockade include Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Both companies have local bottlers and distributors in Iran, though these companies say they have nothing to do with the American brands.

Earlier this month, U.S. media reports said Washington had approved exports of soft drinks to Iran, putting an end to a ban that had been in place since the 1990s.

Khamenei, as well as hard-liners in the Iranian government, remain deeply suspicious of the United States, despite the nuclear deal, and view Western cultural imports as a threat to public morality.

This decision came as the U.S. and its international partners are about to lift financial sanctions on Iran, in accordance with the Iranian nuclear agreement reached in July.