TEHRAN: The Iranian regime directed regional authorities across the country to implement a ban on the import of over 200 American products, Iran’s semi-official PressTV news service reported on Monday.
The Trade Promotion Organization of Iran has published the names of 227 goods subject to an import ban and sent the list to authorities in all the 31 provinces across the country in a directive to implement the boycott.
The list includes an assortment of goods, including chewing gums, cigarettes and appliances in addition to defense equipment such as tanks and armored vehicles, the Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.
The labeling comes in the wake of an order last month by Minister of Mine, Industry and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh for a ban on entry of US consumer goods.
The list was drawn up in response to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s directive to block American imports.
The New York Times reported that the Iranian regime’s anti-American stance has become significantly more pronounced in the wake of the nuclear deal. In addition to the newly-announced boycott, the regime recently arrested Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi and Lebanese-born U.S. resident Nizar Zakka. Last month, Iran also executed Hamid Samiee, a dual Iranian-American citizen it held since 2008.
In October, Iran announced the conviction of American reporter Jason Rezaian on charges of espionage, and later sentenced him to prison for an unspecified length of time. A senior Iranian official accused Rezaian of conspiring with the U.S. government to topple the regime in Tehran.
Last month, Khamenei’s office published a video accusing the U.S. of orchestrating the deadly November 13 terror attacks in Paris. A little over a week later, Khamenei warned that the U.S. was using “money and sexual attractions” to infiltrate the Islamic Republic.
In September, Khamenei declared that Iran would defeat the U.S. in the event of a war. He tweeted an image of President Barack Obama with a gun to his head, threatening the “aggressive and criminal U.S.,” only three days after the nuclear agreement was reached.
