Iran’s carpet industry unravelling under US sanctions

Once a symbol of cultural prestige, Iran’s handmade rugs are no longer selling as fast as they once did, as sanctions weigh on an already troubled economy and buyers’ tastes change. Commanding more than $2 billion in export revenues in its heyday of the early 1990s, the industry now struggles to scrape together around $40 million, marking a dramatic collapse of more than 95 percent.