Iran's Minister of Communications Says iPhone Registration Issue Resolved

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology of the Islamic Republic has stated that the issue of iPhone registration has been resolved. Setareh Hashemi did not provide further details on Wednesday, November 1, but wrote on the social media platform X that with the government's approval and the lifting of the ban, 'details and regulations related to the import of iPhones will be announced in the shortest time.' Authorities in Iran banned the import of the iPhone 14 and newer models last year, but the iPhone 13 and older models continued to be imported due to high demand. This ban led to a significant increase in the prices of older iPhones in the black market and highlighted Iran's economic problems. Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, had previously criticized the import of iPhones and American luxury goods. However, other smartphone brands such as Samsung, Xiaomi, and Huawei remain widely available in Iran. While the Minister of Communications announced the liberation of the iPhone 14 registration on social media, the Mobile Importers Association and the Iranian Mobile Ecosystem Congress expressed ignorance about this decision, stating they had not received any notification. Follow-ups by the news site Tejarat News from the Ministry of Communications on the same day also indicate that 'there are deficiencies in the published information, and currently, this issue has only been raised on the Minister's X account.' The liberation of the iPhone 14 registration means the lifting of the import ban, which requires approvals from the government and parliament. The government has previously promised to resolve the iPhone registration issue multiple times, but this has not been realized. The ban on importing new generations of smartphones, especially the iPhone, has not only led to a significant increase in the prices of older Apple models but has also restricted citizens' access to freely use the most advanced models available in the market. Government-affiliated entities in Iran announced in July 2020 that phones priced over 300 euros would no longer be registered as luxury goods, thus preventing the import of flagship and some mid-range phones into Iran, and these phones would not be able to use mobile operator networks in Iran. Flagship and some mid-range phones use the strongest hardware and operating systems, making them faster and capable of running some heavy applications that only work on these devices. In this context, the spokesperson for the Central Headquarters for Combating Smuggling of Goods and Currency announced on August 21 this year that the signal for iPhone 14 and 15 would be cut off in Iran. He stated that despite the ban on importing these phones and their non-registration, 'one million iPhone 14 and 15 devices are receiving signals in Iran.' The available models of series 14 and 15 in the market, which have entered the country unofficially, allow users to use the phone's signal for one month per SIM card. Since most of these models have dual SIM cards, their owners can use the phone normally for up to two months. After the period of using unregistered phones ends, users manage to temporarily extend their signal access through specific tricks or by paying more to sellers, but now this access is also at risk of being cut off. Meanwhile, research by Radio Farda's data mining group indicates that people in Iran need to set aside about three months of their salary without any other expenses to purchase the base model of the iPhone 16. At the same time, the cabinet's resolution regarding the import and tariff registration of iPhones has set the commercial profit for the import of 'any type' of mobile phone branded with iPhone at 96 percent. 'Commercial profit' is a type of indirect tax that must be deposited into the government's account at customs for imported goods. Currently, the price of the regular iPhone 16 with 256GB of storage is set at $800 by Apple in the US market. The imposition of a 96 percent commercial profit in Iran will increase the price of this product for importers to $1,568.