Iranian Diplomats and US Hypocrisy

The Trump administration has barred Iranian diplomats, based in or visiting New York, from shopping at wholesale club stores, like Costco and Sam’s Club, and purchasing luxury goods without specific permission from the State Department. I don’t know whether we should laugh or shake our heads. The concept basically equates to being a parent overseeing what their child spends their allowance on. So why the parental oversight?

According to the department, “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.”

Wow! This statement comes from an administration that has crumbling sanctions on Iran that make it extremely difficult for them to produce a successful economy. Sanctions are imposed on their energy sector, financial sector including its Central Bank, shipping, construction, mining, textiles, automotive, and manufacturing. Foreign corporations that invest in, and/or buy, sell, or transport Iranian oil, are included in those sanctions.

Yet this administration maintains the insane attitude of blaming Iran for its poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and dire shortages of water and electricity. How is a country suppose to succeed when most everything it does is sanctioned by the richest country in the world? Why would they not despise us? Is there picture of Congress as the definition of the word ‘hypocrisy’ in the dictionary?

Membership stores have been a favorite of Iranian diplomats living in or visiting New York because they are able to buy large quantities of products not available at home due to the aforementioned reasons. Numerous countries are in dire economic straits, allegedly due to their oppressive governments, yet only Iranian diplomats were targeted with such child-like treatment.

In another ridiculous statement, the State Department said, “By preventing Iranian regime officials from exploiting diplomatic travel to the UN as a means to obtain goods unavailable to the Iranian public, we are sending a clear message: When the United States says it stands with the people of Iran, we mean it.” Could that be any more idiotic? The answer to that can be heard from the mouth of any Iranian with a heartbeat negatively affected by our sanctions.

In case you wanted to know what “luxury goods” are according to the government, the Office of Foreign Missions’ list includes a lot of what many average Americans are likely to own. Such as: watches, leather apparel, footwear, handbags, wallets, fountain pens, cosmetics, perfumes and toilet waters, carpets, rugs, tapestries, electronics and appliances, recreational sports articles, musical instruments, cigarettes and cigars, wine, spirits and beer.

Here’s the twist many of our own citizens may fail to recognize. In many parts of the world, everything I just listed is a luxury. We need to be more grateful for what we do have than be jealous of what we don’t have. On the other hand, no one should need government permission.

Sources used: Associated Press and congress.gov