The Trump administration has now reportedly moved to restrict the lifestyles of Iranian diplomats posted to or visiting New York, barring them from shopping at wholesale club stores such as Costco and placing new limits on their ability to purchase luxury goods in the United States.
The State Department, announcing the measures Monday, cast them as a stand against the privileges of Tehran’s ruling class at a time when ordinary Iranians endure worsening living conditions.
“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 department said in a statement.
Under the new policy, Iranian diplomats and their dependents must obtain explicit U.S. government approval before obtaining or maintaining memberships at wholesale clubs such as Costco, Sam’s Club or BJ’s, or before purchasing luxury items valued at more than $1,000 and cars worth more than $60,000.
“These restrictions ensure that Iranian regime officials cannot exploit diplomatic travel to the UN as a means to obtain goods unavailable to the Iranian public,” the State Department said. “When the United States says it stands with the people of Iran, we mean it.”
The determination, issued by Clifton Seagroves, the head of the Office of Foreign Missions, was signed on Sept. 16 and 18 and will be published this week in the Federal Register. It specifically targets Iranian diplomats, though officials indicated the administration is considering further restrictions for delegations from Sudan, Zimbabwe and Brazil.
The list of goods now requiring permission is extensive, encompassing everything from luxury watches, handbags, perfumes and leather apparel to furs, carpets, pearls, works of art, antiques, and high-end electronics. Cigarettes, cigars, wine, spirits and beer are also covered.
Wholesale club memberships have long been a particular draw for Iranian diplomats in New York. With access to bulk goods unavailable or prohibitively expensive in their own country, officials have reportedly used the opportunity to stockpile items and ship them home, circumventing the consequences of Iran’s economic isolation.
The timing of the new restrictions coincides with the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, where world leaders gather for high-level debates and diplomacy. The rules, however, are not temporary: they apply year-round to Iranian diplomats representing their country at the U.N.
The decision is part of a broader campaign by the administration to tighten control over visas and privileges for foreign delegations. Earlier this month, the United States denied entry to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and his large delegation, preventing them from attending the U.N. gathering.
Administration officials have described the latest measures as another step in a broader effort to ensure that hostile governments cannot use diplomatic travel as an escape from the conditions they impose at home.
By tying the privileges of Iran’s diplomats directly to the hardships of the Iranian people, the White House is sending a message meant as much for Tehran’s rulers as for its citizens: America, it insists, stands with the latter.
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