US imposes shopping restrictions on Iranian diplomats in New York

By Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US blocked Iranian diplomats from shopping at wholesale stores and buying luxury goods, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Monday.

Iranian officials visiting New York for the UN General Assembly are limited “to the areas strictly necessary to transit to and from the UN headquarters district to conduct their official UN business,” Pigott said in a statement.

The State Department said Iranian officials, including those at the Iranian Mission in New York, must get approval to hold memberships and buy items “at any wholesale club store in the United States, to include but not limited to Costco, Sam’s Club, or BJ’s Wholesale Club.”

Iranian officials must also obtain permission to buy “luxury items” over $1,000, including watches, leather and silk clothing, furs, jewelry, perfumes, electronics, alcohol, and cars worth over $60,000.

Stores such as Costco have been frequented by Iranian diplomats in New York to purchase goods not widely available in Iran at comparatively lower prices.

“We will not allow the Iranian regime to allow its clerical elites to have a shopping spree in New York while the Iranian people endure poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and dire shortages of water and electricity,” Pigott said.

He said that the US restricts Iranian officials’ movements and purchases during the UN General Assembly to “send a clear message: When the United States says it stands with the people of Iran, we mean it,” he said.

“Today’s actions affirm the United States’ commitment to supporting the Iranian people in their pursuit of accountability and a better life,” the spokesperson added.