Irish exports to Iran amounted to just under €5.7 million for the first 10 months of last year and remain a very small component of the State’s overall export trade, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show. The bulk of the exports in 2024 (67 per cent) were in two categories: chemicals and materials for beverages and chemical products for industry use. Decades of western sanctions have battered Iran’s economy, triggering high inflation, unemployment and a precipitous slide in the country’s currency. Senior industry figures here described the trade between the Republic and Iran as “minimal”. But this window was closed again in 2018 when the first Trump administration reimposed sanctions and warned that any country doing business with Iran would not be able to trade with the US.

Source: The Irish Times January 14, 2026 15:02 UTC