The Trump administration has enacted a sweeping set of restrictions targeting Iranian diplomats in New York, barring them from shopping at wholesale club stores such as Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s Wholesale, and from purchasing luxury goods in the United States without explicit permission from the U.S. State Department. This move, announced on September 22, 2025, and published in the Federal Register the following day, marks a significant escalation in the ongoing tension between Washington and Tehran, especially as Iranian officials arrived in New York for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
At the heart of this policy is a bid to prevent Iranian regime officials from accessing American consumer goods—particularly in bulk—while ordinary Iranians continue to grapple with economic hardship back home. According to the State Department, the new rules require Iranian diplomats and their dependents to secure approval before obtaining or retaining memberships at wholesale clubs, as well as before buying items from these stores by any means. The restrictions also extend to a wide array of luxury goods, including watches, furs, jewelry, handbags, perfumes, tobacco products, wine, spirits, and vehicles valued at more than $60,000. The list, as outlined by Clifton Seagroves, head of the Office of Foreign Missions, even includes items such as electronics, musical instruments, fountain pens, and certain works of art.
State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott made the administration’s rationale clear, stating, “We will not allow the Iranian regime to allow its clerical elites to have a shopping spree in New York while the Iranian people endure poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and dire shortages of water and electricity.” The message, echoed across multiple outlets including CNN and NBC News, is designed to send a signal both to Iran’s government and to the international community. Pigott further emphasized, “By preventing Iranian regime officials from exploiting diplomatic travel to the UN as a means to obtain goods unavailable to the Iranian public, we are sending a clear message: When the United States says it stands with the people of Iran, we mean it.”
The timing of the ban is no accident. It coincides with the arrival of Iran’s delegation, led by President Masoud Pezeshkian, at the United Nations General Assembly—a gathering that often places U.S.-Iran relations under a global spotlight. The restrictions are not limited to shopping habits; they also severely curtail the diplomats’ movement within New York. Iranian officials attending the UNGA are now required to remain strictly within areas necessary to transit to and from the UN headquarters, effectively eliminating the opportunity for sightseeing or unofficial engagements elsewhere in the city. Pigott underscored this point, saying, “The security of Americans is always our priority, and the United States will not allow the Iranian regime to use UNGA as an excuse to travel freely in New York to promote its terrorist agenda.”
For years, Iranian diplomats in New York have taken advantage of access to American wholesale stores. According to The Associated Press and NBC News, these diplomats have historically favored retailers like Costco and Sam’s Club because such bulk goods are either prohibitively expensive or simply unavailable in Iran due to strict international sanctions. Some diplomats were even known to send large quantities of American goods back to Iran, a practice now explicitly targeted by the new regulations.
Notably, the ban singles out Iran alone. While the State Department’s Office of Foreign Missions has the authority to regulate diplomatic benefits for all foreign missions, only Iranian diplomats are affected by the current iteration of these rules. The administration has hinted at considering similar restrictions for delegations from Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Brazil, but as of now, Iran is the sole focus.
The new restrictions are permanent, applying year-round to any Iranian diplomat representing their country at the United Nations, not just those visiting during the annual General Assembly. The policy, signed by Seagroves on September 16 and 18, 2025, was preceded by internal discussions earlier this month, according to officials cited by CNN. The move is part of a broader crackdown by the Trump administration on diplomatic privileges and visas, particularly for countries perceived as adversarial to U.S. interests.
The crackdown has not been limited to Iran. In a related development, the Trump administration denied visas to Palestinian Authority officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas, effectively barring them from attending the U.N. conference on a two-state solution held on September 22, 2025. This step, reported by multiple outlets, drew attention for its impact on diplomatic access and the broader implications for U.S. policy at the United Nations.
Reaction from Tehran has so far been muted. As of publication, Iranian officials have not issued an official response to the restrictions on their diplomats’ purchases and travel. However, the move is likely to be seen as another example of Washington’s hardline stance toward Iran, especially in the context of the international body’s impending reimposition of sanctions that were lifted under the now-defunct Iran nuclear deal.
For the Trump administration, these measures serve a dual purpose: reinforcing U.S. sanctions and sending a message of solidarity with the Iranian people. The administration’s statements have repeatedly drawn a contrast between the privileges of Iranian elites abroad and the hardships faced by ordinary citizens at home. The State Department’s insistence that “the United States says it stands with the people of Iran” is more than rhetoric; it’s a calculated part of the administration’s strategy to isolate Tehran’s leadership while appealing to Iranian popular sentiment.
The broader context for these restrictions is the long-standing tension between the United States and Iran, marked by disputes over nuclear ambitions, regional influence, and human rights. The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 set the stage for a series of escalating sanctions and diplomatic confrontations. The latest restrictions on diplomats’ shopping and travel are a further extension of this confrontational approach.
Critics of the policy argue that such measures may do little to change the behavior of Iran’s leadership and could instead complicate diplomatic engagement at the United Nations. Supporters, however, contend that limiting the perks enjoyed by Iranian officials sends an important symbolic message and reinforces the broader sanctions regime.
As world leaders gather in New York for the annual UN General Assembly, the new rules have already reshaped the landscape for Iranian diplomats. Whether these restrictions will have a lasting impact on U.S.-Iran relations remains to be seen, but for now, the message from Washington is clear: the privileges of diplomacy come with strings attached, and the United States is prepared to pull them tight.