As Sanctions Bite, Iranians Invest Big in Georgia

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

BENOÎT FAUCON, JAY SOLOMON and FARNAZ FASSIHI

TBILISI, Georgia—Economic sanctions against Iran have made it increasingly hard for Iranians to do business abroad. But Iranian businessmen are flocking to Georgia, a longtime U.S. ally in the Caucasus region, to pursue profits evaporating in much of the world.

In recent months, Iranian nationals have taken the reins of a private Georgian airline, a major trade bank and a scrap-metal plant. Persian is often heard, such as on a recent night at a Tbilisi casino, where Iranian tourists played roulette and sipped drinks brought by Russian hostesses.

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