You’ve heard of ‘blood diamonds,’ but what about ‘blood pistachios’?

We often hear about “blood diamonds,” which are illegally traded diamonds that subsidize terrorism. But what about pistachios? Are they being used to fund terrorism? Well, they are if they are grown in Iran, which exports around 135,000 tons annually, with the profits helping to fund the regime. Additionally, according to a carefully-researched article at Focus on Western Islam, even if you buy American, you may unwittingly be funding terrorism, given the essay’s claims that a major grower and producer is using profits to help fund Iran.

Focus on Western Islamism, a Daniel Pipes project that “educates its readers about the threat posed by Islamism (and the efforts to counter it) in Western democracies,” did a deep dive into the Amin family, one of America’s major pistachio producers. The findings are disturbing, to say the least.

According to the article, the Amin family made its way to America in the early 1950s, long before the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The family had originally imported pistachios from Iran but, when sanctions made that unprofitable, the family went into business in America. According to “Iran’s Pistachio Proxies,” the Amin clan became amongst the biggest and most powerful players in America’s very profitable pistachio market.

Image made with Pistachios by Theo Crazzolara (CC BY 2.0) and blood drops from freeiconspng.

One would think that, having become a great American success story, the Amin family’s allegiance would be to America. However, that’s not the case. It turns out that Amin family members are loyal to Iran’s revolutionary regime:

• The Amin family’s activities in Iran, however, have involved collaboration with Iranian institutions sanctioned by the U.S. government or which are linked to violent regime entities, such as the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist group under United States law.
  • Organizations such as the Iran Pistachio Association, with which the Amin family is closely involved and financially sponsors, appear to be particularly closely involved with the IRGC.
  • One Amin family member works closely with the Pistachio Authority of Iran, part of the regime’s Ministry of Interior.
  • A charity established and run by family members works closely with banks sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.
  • Regime officials have organized multiple ceremonies honoring Amin family members, while regime websites host flattering biographies of several Amin family members.
  • Members of the Amin family have faced federal scrutiny in the past, including a conviction for illegally transporting $17 million from Iran to the United States. Questions are now being raised about the legality of some family members continued financial involvement with sanctioned institutions.

The same article points to research showing that the American-based Amins have close ties to the Iran-based side of the Amin clan, which is also in the pistachio business. American-based family members serve on the board of the main Iranian entity and, according to the feds, have an ownership interest. (One of the things the article points out is the myriad entities at home and abroad in which the Amins are involved.) The Iran-based operations are closely tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp, a designated terrorist organization, that is the real power in Iran.

In addition to sending tens of millions of dollars to help prop up the mullahs, the Amin family’s domestic spending is pretty unsavory, too. The family openly purveys antisemitic and anti-Zionist propaganda, funds anti-Israel initiatives (including, indirectly Hamas), and seems to have waged active war (in business terms) against one of their main competitors, a Jewish-owned pistachio company that the Iranian regime despises.

The article is so carefully researched and the details so many that I cannot do them justice. As it is, next time I want to buy pistachios, I’m going to read the label very carefully to ensure that I’m not buying Amin products. I have no desire to help maintain the mullahs in power.