Kenya to send tea mission to Iran in face of US backlash

The Kenyan government has announced it will send its third trade mission in four years to Iran, to discuss the future of tea trade between the two countries.

Anthony Muriithi, director general of the Agriculture and Food Authority in Kenya, confirmed that a delegation will travel to Tehran, the Iranian capital, in an effort to boost trade in the face of rising US sanctions.

The trade mission comes at a time of escalating tensions in the region following the US assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds force, part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Mr Murrthi said “Iran remains one of our key markets and the demand for the beverage is still high in that country”.

Kenya is a huge exporter of tea to a number of countries in the Middle-East, including Iran.

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