Why Trump Should Sell Grain to Iran
For the same reason Ronald Reagan allowed agricultural exports to the Soviet Union: he knew it served American interests as well as humanitarian ones.
Iran bought American soybeans after exports to China collapsed.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergFor ordinary Iranians, a sudden shortage of tomato paste, is an omen that U.S. sanctions, combined with their government’s mismanagement of the economy, could make basic foods more expensive, and harder to find. Tomato paste is a crucial ingredient in many Iranian dishes, and inevitably, panic-buying has set in.
The fears are not misplaced: the sanctions reinstated by the Trump administration will make it harder for Iran to reliably and cheaply import agricultural commodities. And imports are crucial to Iran’s ability to feed its people.