Iran to Blockade U.S. Goods

In exchange for his putative approval of the Nuclear Iran Deal, Iran's Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khameini issued a directive to his government and people to blockade American goods.

In response to the Ayatollah's call for his nation to develop an "economy of resistance," Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade said it will block imports of American goods.

“We will implement the blockade on imports of American goods in a directive,” Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh said on Saturday, according to PressTV.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had asked citizens to "be watchful about irregular imports after lifting sanctions and seriously avoid importing consumer goods from the United States" in a post on his website on Sunday, according to The Associated Press. The AP also reported that US imports in Iran reached $140 million in the first half of this year, which was a huge leap.

Most of what Iran imports from the U.S. are medical devices, food and seeds, but the bulk of contraband cigarettes in Iran are U.S. brands. The ISNA news agency reported this spring that as many as 6 - 7 billion Marlboro cigarettes are smoked annually in Iran.

At the same time that the Iranian leadership is demanding that its citizens clamp down on importing U.S. goods, the U.S. and its international partners are about to lift financial sanctions on Iran in accordance with the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiated with the Islamic Republic by the U.S. and its P5+1 partners.