Are Ushak rugs made in Iran?

Are Ushak rugs made in Iran? 
Ushak rugs are a traditional Turkish rug with certain distinct characteristics. The rugs are thick with wool pile on a wool foundation. The knot counts tend to be low and I generally expect then to be less than 100 knots per square inch. Quite often the wool is very soft and is said to be part goat wool. 
Could they be making Ushak rugs in Mahabad, Iran? Labor is expensive in Turkey which means weavers are taking higher paying manufacturing jobs so fewer and fewer rugs are being woven. Iran has plenty of weavers but with the embargo the huge US market is closed to them. Mahabad produced great Sauj Bulaq but there is not a strong market for the modern Kurdish rugs produced there. 
So it is very possible that if they started weaving Ushak rugs as soon they made it to Germany no one in US Customs would identify them as Persian rugs. I will keep my eyes open for new Ushak rugs. I think I could tell by the feel of the wool.  JBOC

New Persian Ushak in an Arts and Crafts Pattern

Back of the above rug.

Ushak carpets also known as Ziegler carpets, made by the artist carpet weavers of Mahabad in West Azarbaijan province, are very popular in international markets specially among American buyers.
The carpets made in this city are exported to many countries like Japan, Canada, Russia, Pakistan, Europe and Arab countries of the Middle East.
Among all the carpets made by Mahabad carpet weavers popular in foreign countries, Ushak or Ziegler carpets stands out: A local hand-made carpet whose fibers are made of sheep fur and colored with natural and herbal materials.
This 150 year old carpet is mostly made in huge sizes and since the fibers used in it are thick, they call it Ushak which means thick-fibered.
According to Yaqub Bab Sur, a carpet expert in the city of Mahabad, in the few years since this kind of carpet has been produced, more than 10 thousand square meters have been exported to foreign countries.
He also noted the designs used in this carpet are inspired by nature and up to 8 colors are used in its making.
Bab Sur also added: “Today more than 200 carpet weavers in Mahabad are making Ushak carpets.
Suitable publicity for this carpet is one of the reasons it has become so popular in the West, Chia Qorbani Aqdam, manager of the union of hand-made carpets said, adding: “Paying more attention to carpet exportation can increase production as well as quality which would lead to the presence of Iran's carpet in international markets.”
According to Qurbani Aqdam, the government must have proper plans in order to encourage and facilitate the carpet industry particularly in West Azarbaijan province through insurance and business support. http://www.iran-daily.com/News/110731.html
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|News ID:110731
Publish Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2015 20:25:08 GMT
Service: Iran

The city of Mahabad, with a production of more than 4 thousand square meters of hand-made carpets a year and due to the high variety and quality of its carpets, has become a major carpet producing zone in West Azarbaijan province.