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The
ban on new iPhone models had been in place since 2023 but now,
the country's telecommunications minister said authorities are
allowing the registration of the new models.
The minister, Satar Hashemi, said on X that the problem of
registering new iPhone models on the Iranian market was “solved”
and that Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian backed the efforts
of the communication ministry toward that goal.
Hashemi did not elaborate but said the import measures would be
announced, soon.
Following the 2023 ban, iPhone 13 and older versions could still
be imported amid high demand for an item that remains a status
symbol for many young Iranians.
While the ban was in place, any iPhone 14, 15 or a newer model
brought into Iran would stop working on Iran’s state-controlled
mobile phone networks after one month, the time span for
tourists allowed to visit the county.
The ban spurred a parallel economy for the older handsets,
jacking up prices for the devices as many sought to put their
depreciating Iranian rials into any physical commodity. It was a
sign of the economic woes plaguing Iran after decades of Western
sanctions.
Imports of iPhones have long been a contentious point —
government statistics suggest that about a third of Iran’s
entire $4.4 billion mobile phone import market consisted of
iPhones before the ban.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2020 pointedly
criticized iPhone imports though he had previously slammed what
he described as all American luxury goods.
“Excessive imports are something dangerous,” Khamenei said at
the time, according to a transcript on his official website.
“Sometimes this import is a luxury product, meaning there is no
need for it. I’ve heard about half a billion dollars were spent
to import one type of American luxury cellphone.”
However, other foreign smartphone brands such as Motorola,
Samsung, Nokia, Xiaomi and Huawei remain widely available in
Iran.
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