Iran Independent of Outsourcing in Android Market: Minister

Referring to the recent removal of Iranian apps from App Store and Google Play, Jahromi said, “As Iran is looking for global markets, these restrictions will impede our international marketing. Therefore, we need to take this warning seriously and strive for new strategies for mobile phones and new businesses.”

“There are some systems in the world, especially in South Korea, in order to eliminate the absolute dependence on Android and Google. We also have put it on our agenda. But this is a very strategic issue and it cannot be decided overnight.”

“We must examine all aspects and see all the development areas and carefully study these areas in order to have a key idea. All the US efforts are to disrupt the lives of people. Therefore, our seemingly good decisions should not be such that people’s lives are affected by our good slogans. We must not disrupt the lives of the people,” Jahromi pointed out.

Jahromi, who was speaking in a telephone conversation with the state TV, said that no new sanctions have been imposed on the Islamic Republic, but the problem is that the new US administration wants to disrupt the agreements.

“Therefore, as the Islamic Republic of Iran has behaved wisely and, on the other hand, it will cost them (the Americans) much to disrupt international agreements; they (the Americans) are naturally seeking to do something to prove that they have implemented what they have chanted for earlier. So they are looking to impose some new restrictions.”

Azari Jahromi went on to say that the US Congress has not imposed a new sanction and no new executive order has been issued in this area.

“But the behaviour of US administration has raised concerns for American companies to be subject to Treasury inspections in the event of financial interactions, thus they are introducing restrictions and revisions in this area,” the Iranian communications minister concluded.

Two Digital service distributors namely Google Play and App Store have removed Iranian apps from their stores, citing US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Companies such as Google and Apple were hosting Iranian apps reportedly under a license issued by former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2014 but it is not clear why they have stopped those services now.

Tehran is under unilateral American sanctions despite a 2015 nuclear accord which the US and its allies reached with Iran. President Donald Trump has imposed new sanctions on the Islamic Republic and threatened to tear up the agreement.

Iran has about 48 million smartphone users in the country of more than 80 million. Apple’s market in Iran is related to iPhone holders who number in the upwards of 7 million. The majority of other smartphones are also using Google’s Android as their operating system.