Iran’s ban on importing iPhone cellphones has led to a capital flight of 900 million dollars to sneak the phones in high demand into the country through illegal channels and smuggling, the head of the country’s Association of Mobile Phone Importers says.
Abdolmahdi Asadi told Tehran-based ISNA news agency that the government’s refusal to officially register iPhone 14 and 15 in Iran has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars in backchannels.
He also warned in case the new administration of President Massoud Pezeshkian does not remove the ban, the loss of foreign currency will soar to 1.3 billion dollars after iPhone 16 is released later this year.
There has been no official explanation on the reason behind the ban, but there are speculations suggesting that the restriction was made out of concerns that the phones can be used to connect to the Starlink satellite internet service and help Iranians bypass the government’s restrictions on accessing the internet. However, experts have refused the argument on technical grounds.
Asadi said there are unconfirmed reports that the Iranian minister of industries is in favor of removing the ban and opening the legal path to import the popular phones.
iPhones account for over a third of Iran’s mobile phone imports, according to unofficial data.
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