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Apple is in talks with Iranian distributors that could see the iPhone being sold in the country should Western sanctions lift sufficiently, reports The Wall Street Journal. Senior Apple executives have reportedly met with Iranian distributors at its London headquarters to speak about potentially having Iranian retailers distribute Apple products as premium resellers.
In the conversations, the Cupertino, Calif., company explored the possibility of having Iranian partners sell Apple products at so-called premium resellers, three of the people said. Instead of company-operated Apple stores, such outlets would be midsize franchisees that sell Apple products only, a model the company has used in Europe and Asia, the people said.
The contacts have involved over a dozen Apple employees, including technical and marketing professionals, the people said.
The United States has imposed sanctions that prevent companies from doing business with Iran, but in May, sanctions that prevented the sales of consumer communications equipment and software such as smartphones and laptops were lifted. The sanctions were removed in an effort to give Iranians a way to communicate on social media and through other channels to overcome communications restrictions enacted by Iranian authorities. This change potentially opens the door for sales of the iPhone and other Apple products in the country.
Apple is said to have consulted the U.S. Treasury's Office of Frozen Assets Control to ascertain how it could start operations in Iran and establish a relationship with Iran-based customers.
As noted by The Wall Street Journal, Iran may be seen as an attractive market to Apple as the country has a population of 77 million with 42 percent of people under the age of 25, along with a large middle class. There are obstacles that could make it difficult for Apple to sell iPhones in the country, however, including banking restrictions, locating mobile-service providers, and more.
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Top Rated Comments
Absolutely, they both have people with money who would like an iPhone.
They are one of the nicest people in the world, it's just a handful of people who spoil it for the rest.
You know, politics and religion shouldn't be mixed!
Had too :)
I remember growing up in a neighborhood in Southern California. Our next door neighbors were Iranian immigrants, who fled from Iran when the Shah was ousted in the early 1980s. They were still Muslim, but were not judgmental. During the first Christmas we had in that neighborhood, the Iranian family came to our door at Christmas Eve and they gave our family a big pan of baklava and wished us (we are Catholics) Merry Christmas! in their broken English. That was their way of welcoming us to the neighborhood.
They are not bad people at all. But their government and leaders… not so great…
And if you don't know what baklava is…. I feel sorry for your lack of cultural enlightenment.