Colourful, intricately woven carpets line the booths of Iran's historic Kashan market, but the skilled craftsmen who make them are struggling to make sales as tensions between Iran and the West destabilise the carpet industry.
The art of Persian weaving is passed down from generation to generation. (Persia is the ancient name for the region now known as Iran.) Artisans dye the threads using materials such as grape leaves, pomegranate rinds and walnut shells. Designs feature flowers, plants, animals and historical scenes. The weaver wraps the threads around fixed warp threads, a technique called Persian knotting. It can take several months to make one rug.
Carpet exports were worth more than $2 billion two decades ago, but were worth just $50 million last year, according to government figures.
The weavers' plight is not entirely new: the industry has seen major ups and downs over the past half century.
1979: After the Islamic Revolution, the US tightened sanctions on the Iranian government over issues including Tehran's links to militant attacks and the US Embassy hostage crisis. These sanctions included a carpet ban.
2000: President Bill Clinton lifts the ban on imports of Iranian carpets, caviar, and pistachios.
2010: The United States again bans Iranian carpets amid growing concerns about Iran's nuclear program.
2015: Iran signs nuclear deals with countries around the world that significantly reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium (uranium used in nuclear weapons). Carpet trade is allowed back on track.
2018: President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the nuclear deal. Since then, Iran has increased its production of enriched uranium. The carpet maker's products are again prohibited under US law.
Carpet dealers say the number of tourists visiting Kashan has also fallen. Iran's tourism minister claimed in April that six million tourists had visited the country in the past 12 months, but this likely included religious pilgrims and Afghans and Iraqis who don't spend much. Those who do visit face the challenge of Iran's financial system, which doesn't accept major international credit cards.
Iran's currency, the rial, has plummeted in value in recent years, making it difficult for many Iranians to purchase hand-woven carpets.
“The whole world once knew Iran for its carpets,” said Abdullah Bahrami, head of the National Union of Hand-Knotted Carpet Manufacturers, but that no longer seems to be the case as the carpet industry struggles.
Why? Unjust government policies and the sanctions that accompany them can exacerbate public suffering.
For more information on Persia and its history, check out Bright Star: The Story of Esther by Holly Mackle on our recommended reading list.
