Whatever else the Iranian nuclear deal does or doesn’t do, America’s caviar lovers and pistachio fans have reason to celebrate.
As part of the small number of non-financial trade sanctions the U.S. agreed to lift as part of the deal announced early Tuesday morning in Vienna, the U.S. agreed to lift the ban on licensing the import of Iranian foodstuffs, listing in particular Iranian caviar and pistachio nuts.
In the text of the nearly 200-page agreement, the U.S. also pledges to lift bilateral trade sanctions relating to the sale of commercial aircraft and aircraft parts and on Iranian-origin carpets.
Before economic sanctions imposed because of its nuclear activities, Iran was one of the largest producers and exporters of caviar, cultivated from the sturgeon along the coast of the Caspian Sea.
And in 2013, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, Iran was the world’s largest pistachio grower, ahead of the United States and Turkey. World pistachio trade has taken a hit from the ongoing civil war in nearby Syria, the world’s fourth largest producer, where officials recently said the crop harvest had fallen by 50 percent in the past year.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.