US Sanctions on Iran: Persian carpet traders in the US prepare for impact

World
Europe

02:30

Another country the US is sanctioning is Iran. Among the new ones is a strict ban on imported Iranian goods, including the country's famed Persian carpets. CGTN's Daniel Ryntjes reports on how America's rug merchants are coping.

DAVID ISFAHANY PASARGAD RUGS"These are some of the Persian rugs from Iran."

For one of America's leading importers of Persian rugs, David Isfahany is surprisingly upbeat.

DAVID ISFAHANY PASARGAD RUGS "Very intricate. This is a combination of silk and wool, Persian lining, from Iran. Silk here, see how it shines."

U.S. rug merchants have spent weeks working with their Iranian counterparts to prepare for the ban.

DANIEL RYNTJES WASHINGTON "Traders here say the advanced warning of these sanctions has enabled them to order in high volume and therefore build up their inventory to satisfy customers at least for the next couple of years."

DAVID ISFAHANY PASARGAD RUGS "It's happened before, I think this is the fourth time I believe for the embargo happening. Time will fix it and by the time they weave the rugs, hopefully in one or two years, the embargo is lifted, merchandise going to be spread out. It's a shame such a beautiful art to be stopped in any country to go to anybody's home and let them enjoy it."

This 104-year-old business also sources rugs from Afghanistan, Turkey, India, China, Nepal and Pakistan.

But Persian rugs are especially prized for their intricate craftsmanship, each handmade by highly skilled weavers using wool, cotton and silk, over many months.

In Vienna, Virginia, the owner of Persepolis Oriental Rugs, Hossein Nilfouroush, also has a large inventory of Persian rugs, old and new.

HOSSEIN NILFOUROUSH OWNER, PERSEPOLIS ORIENTAL RUGS "That ivory, there are so many colors in it put next to each other, looks beautiful. When you go to the other rug again there are so many different colors next to each other. Overall it looks good."

And after fifty years in business, he's taking the long view.

HOSSEIN NILFOUROUSH OWNER, PERSEPOLIS ORIENTAL RUGS "Iran you know is a country of maybe ten thousand years of history you know. So before Trump and Obama and Clinton and Bush, those people, they managed to live, ten thousand years."

Daniel Ryntjes, CGTN, in Vienna, Virginia.