US Exports to Iran Rise Tenfold during Bush Years

TEHRAN (FNA)- July 9, 2008

US exports to Iran grew more than tenfold during President Bush's years in office despite his claims about Iran's nuclear activities.

Among the states, Georgia led the way, sending Iran $201 million in goods, including $154 million worth of cigarettes.

Tobacco farmer Fred Wetherington, chairman of Georgia's tobacco commission, said he wasn't aware the state exported products to Iran. Cigarettes are actually a popular export.

Other surprising shipments to Iran during the Bush administration include fur clothing, sculptures, perfume, musical instruments and maybe even rifles, according to seven years of US government trade data.

The United States sent Iran $546 million in goods from 2001 through last year, government figures show. It exported roughly $146 million worth last year, compared with $8.3 million in 2001, Bush's first year in office.

Despite sanctions, US rules allow sales of agricultural commodities, medicine and a few other categories of goods to Iran.

These items show that the US is seeking to export only consumption goods to Iran, making a profit without assisting Iranian nation with development and technology.

The government tracks exports to Iran using details from shipping records, but in some cases it is unclear whether anyone pays attention. The US government's own figures show at least $148,000 worth of weapons and other military gear were exported to Iran during Bush's time in office. That includes $106,635 in military rifles and $8,760 in rifle parts and accessories shipped in 2004, the data shows.

Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces the sanctions, said it was unlikely exports of military gear occurred, but added that the government was looking into it. He said shipping records are subject to human error, such as recording "Iran" as the destination rather than "Iraq."

The fact that the United States sells anything to Iran is news to some.

"Until you just told me that about Iran, I'm not sure I knew we did any business with Iran," said Fred Wetherington, chairman of Georgia's tobacco commission. "I thought because of the situation between our two governments, I didn't think we traded with them at all, so I certainly didn't know they were getting any cigarettes."

But, there is no place for surprise, cigarettes can kill Iranians quietly or reduce their efficient lifetime without incurring a risk of nuclear proliferation.

Cigarettes, in fact, represented $154 million of Georgia's nation-leading $201 million in goods exported to Iran during Bush's time in office. Shipments peaked in 2006, apparently from a Brown & Williamson factory in Macon.

The plant has since closed and tobacco shipments to Iran have fallen dramatically. British American Tobacco, which owned Brown & Williamson, said it now makes cigarettes for export to Iran in Turkey. It declined to say how much tobacco the company previously shipped from the US to Iran, but said the US government approved the shipments.

Few people or companies asking US permission to trade with Iran are turned down by the Treasury Department. During Bush's terms, the office has received at least 4,523 license applications for Iran exports, issued at least 2,821 licenses and 213 license amendments and denied at least 178, department data shows.

The Bush administration's record of enforcing export laws is mixed. The Office of Foreign Assets Control let the statute of limitations expire in at least 25 cases involving trade with Iran from 2002 to 2005, according to one internal department audit. Among them was World Fuel Services, which said an employee fueled a ship out of Singapore that turned out to be Iranian-owned, and the US government spotted it from a wire transfer. The company explained the mistake with no repercussions, said Kevin Welber, general counsel of the company's marine business.

Another was Parvizian Masterpieces. Abdi Parvizian of the company's rug gallery in Chevy Chase, Md., said the case was dropped because his business proved everything was imported from Iran legally. He bristled over current congressional proposals to ban imports from Iran, including carpets.

"The problem with the rugs is it has nothing to do with the government of Iran," Parvizian said. "This is something that is made by the very unfortunate people in the country, and those people are going to get hurt more than anybody else."

This very point proves that the US statesmen are pursuing a hostile approach not only towards the government in Tehran but also towards the entire Iranian nation.

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