Helmi has been selling Persian rugs for decades, but this marked the first time he was getting merchandise directly from Iran since the U.S. imposed an embargo on the country in 2010.

Revenue from all Persian rug exports has fallen from around a billion dollars a year in 2000, the last time sanctions were lifted, to just over $300 million a year today, he tells Newsweek.

As part of the withdrawal, U.S. dealers will once again be banned from importing these richly colored and patterned rugs from Iran.

Ideally, you want an oriental rug with a knot density of around 100 knots per square inch. The most premium oriental rugs boast a knot count above 100 knots per square inch.

A real Persian rug, one from Iran, of the same size would range from $15,000 to more than $20,000. Antique rugs, those more than 75 years old, are even more challenging to judge and buy.

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Authentic Oriental rugs are hand-knotted and boast regionally specific patterns, dyes, wools and silks. Most rug makers use local plants and insects to make their dyes. However, in a few regions ...

The rug industry has shifted in the decades since the first Iran trade embargo after the revolution and hostage crisis in 1979, said Jim Dulkerian, owner of Dulkerian Persian Rug. Co. in Baltimore.

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Selena Gomez’s boyfriend, Benny Blanco, showed off his Persian rug-inspired pedicure via Instagram on Tuesday. Getty Images for SiriusXM Benny Blanco is stepping up his pedicure game once more ...

Most people don’t know that this Persian rug showroom exists in Manayunk. You definitely won’t get access without going directly through Parisa — and that’s exactly how Ms. Abdollahi likes it.