US market faces Iran carpet inroads

A delegation of American merchants will visit Iran to revive trade in Persian carpets which withered under intensified US sanctions.

The group will include traders, researchers and writers of handmade carpets, set to travel at the end of the year, head of the Iran National Carpet Center Hamid Kargar said.

“Our aim is to revive and maintain the handwoven Iranian carpet’s links with the traditional American market and boost exports to the country,” he was quoted as saying by the local media.

In Iran, the delegation will be taken on a tour of the country’s carpet weaving hubs and Tehran’s grand bazaar and museum of Persian rugs.

The carpet trade is on course to get a boost from the lifting of sanctions following last month’s conclusion of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 countries.

Persian carpets traditionally dominate the international market of handmade rugs because of their supreme quality, design and natural color.

Carpet weaving is a family-run business with a history of more than 2,000 years in Iran. Artisan products are churned out in local workshops where honed skills in design, weaving and dying make the difference.