Exports of Tobacco to Iran Are UP

Despite sanctions, cigarette manufacturers appearing to be doing quite well in Iran:

From 2002 to 2005, tobacco made up nearly half of the value of all U.S. exports to Iran, according to U.S. Census data. The $50 million worth of tobacco products shipped there in 2005 – the last year for which data are available – is nearly three times that of the next largest category, pharmaceuticals, and over six times the amount of all other farm products.

"Maybe we're trying to stop the Iranians by giving them lung cancer," quips one terrorism expert.