Iranian diplomats — visiting and stationed in the U.S. — will now need State Department approval to shop at club stores like Costco while in New York City.
“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,” the U.S. Department of State declared in a Monday press release.
Diplomats from around the world descended on New York City Monday for the start of the U.N. General Assembly. Speeches, meetings and events will take place in Midtown through Sept. 29 — including President Trump’s address Tuesday.
The ban targeting Iranian diplomats bars dignitaries from the popular pastime of affordably shopping in bulk for goods that are hard to find in their country.
The State Department says stopping Iranian regime officials from “exploiting diplomatic travel to the UN as a means to obtain goods unavailable to the Iranian public” is a show of support for the Iranian people under their rule and who don’t enjoy access to such goods.
Costco’s online store finder shows 19 New York locations. Other retailers off limits to Iranian representatives include Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club.
Iranian and U.S. relations have long been strained over issues including Iran’s development of a nuclear program. American military forces bombarded several atomic site inside Iran’s borders in June. The two countries have publicly disagreed about the effectiveness of those strikes.
The State Department’s Office of Foreign Missions also plans to make purchasing luxury items like watches, handbags and furs more difficult for Iranian diplomats to procure and send home.
With News Wire Services
