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Iranians will soon be able to obtain the iPhone 14, 15 and 16 after authorities lifted a ban on new smartphone models from US tech giant Apple, an announcement on Wednesday said.
A ban on new iPhone models had been in place since 2023, but the country’s telecommunications minister said authorities were now allowing new models to be registered.
Minister Sattar Hashemi said on X that the issue of registering new iPhone models on the Iranian market has been “resolved” and that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian supported the Communications Ministry’s efforts towards that goal.
Hashemi did not elaborate, but said import measures would be announced soon.
Even after the ban in 2023, iPhone 13 and earlier versions may continue to be imported, given the high demand for the iPhone 13 and earlier versions, which remain a status symbol for many young Iranians.
While the ban is in place, iPhone 14, 15 or newer models brought into Iran will no longer be operational on Iran’s national mobile phone network after one month, a period during which tourists can visit the county. was supposed to be stopped.
The ban spurred a parallel economy in old cellphones, driving up the prices of devices as many people tried to spend depreciating Iranian rial on all kinds of physical goods. It was a sign of the economic woes plaguing Iran after decades of Western sanctions.
iPhone imports have long been a topic of debate, and before the ban, iPhones made up about a third of Iran’s overall $4.4 billion mobile phone import market, according to government statistics.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei harshly criticized iPhone imports in 2020, having previously criticized all iPhones as American luxury goods.
“Excessive imports are dangerous,” Khamenei said at the time, according to a transcript posted on his official website. “Sometimes this import is a luxury item, which means we don’t need it. I’ve heard that about $500 million was spent importing one type of American-made luxury cell phone.”
However, other foreign smartphone brands such as Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, Xiaomi, and Huawei are still widely available in Iran.
