The Iranian capital city of Tehran is hosting the 27th Persian Handmade Carpet Exhibition, showcasing a wide range of products from Iran's carpet industry.

Opened on Saturday, the exhibition is being held in a 45,000 square meter land at Tehran’s Preeminent Fairground. Hundreds of Iranian carpet weaving units have taken part in the exhibition, putting on display their latest products.

According to official figures, carpet industry in Iran makes up for a significant share in the country’s non-oil exports with exporting 45 percent of its handmade carpets to Asia, 43 percent to Europe and the rest to other continents.

Iranian handmade carpets are well-known across the world for their delicate designs and good quality.



The event, as the organizers say, is aimed at promoting the status of Iranian handmade carpets in the world and paving the way for further penetration of the carpets in the global markets.

The annual event usually attracts about 40,000 visitors including traders and researchers from Iran and the world.

The exhibition will remain open to the visitors till September 1.
Iran’s carpet weaving industry received a heavy blow after the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department revoked the license for the imports of Iranian-origin carpets.

The move came in line with Trump's increasingly hostile approach toward Iran a few months after he withdrew Washington from the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In reaction, the Head of Iran National Carpet Center (INCC) Freshteh Dastpak said Iran would file a lawsuit with international tribunals against fresh sanctions imposed by the US on the imports of hand-woven Iranian rugs into the country.

The US was the biggest buyer of Iranian carpets and imported hand-woven rugs worth $80 million annually before the imposition of sanctions.

Latest statistics released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show that some 5,400 tonnes of hand-woven carpets worth $424 million were exported in the last fiscal year, which ended on March 20, 2018, registering an increase of over 18 percent in value compared to the previous year.

/SR