US imports from Iran increase 100%

The imports of the United States from Iran have increased by more than 100 percent in the first three quarters of this year despite Washington’s unilateral sanctions against Tehran.

According to figures published by the US Census Bureau’s foreign trade statistics, the US imported $92.7 million worth of goods from Iran from January to September compared to 45.1 million in the same period in 2009.

The figures show the United States also exported $158.4 million worth of goods to Iran during the first nine months of 2010.

The trade volume between the two countries stood at $215.7 million in 2009, the US Census Bureau said.

The report did not detail the items that made up the bulk of Iran’s exports to the United States, but they normally include carpets, caviar and pistachios.

Although the amount of exports appears insignificant, experts say the figures ironically indicate that in the first months of implementing its own engineered sanctions against Iran — while simultaneously engaged in a rigorous global campaign to push allies to follow suit — Washington actually failed to follow through itself, proving once again that it regards itself as an exception.

Meanwhile, Iran’s non-oil exports in the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (starting March 21, 2010) have reached $17.4 billion.

Head of Iran’s Customs Administration Ardeshir Mohammadi said that the figure shows a 26 percent increase in comparison with the same period last year.

Mohammadi added that the value of non-oil exports with the exception of gas condensates in the first seven months of the current Iranian year was $14.6 billion which showed a 31 percent rise.

He said that the export of petrochemical products also showed a 50 percent increase and that “$5.646 billion worth of different petrochemical products were exported during the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar.”