Iran International
Iran's government has lifted a two-year ban on iPhone registration to permit legal imports, yet the decision to maintain high tariffs has raised doubts about its motives.
Critics say the current 96 percent tariff, which President Ebrahim Raisi's government imposed in 2022 on all handsets worth 600 Euros or more, can earn Masoud Pezeshkian’s government tens of millions of dollars so the decision to lift the ban was only made to help reduce the budget deficit.
If the government decides not to lower the high tariffs, it will make more money from the sale of every iPhone than Apple which makes the phones, they say. One comment on social media said when you buy an expensive mobile phone, you also buy one for the government.
The Minister of Telecommunications Sattar Hashemi announced the decision to lift the ban on registration of new models of iPhones (14 and above) in an X post Wednesday.
Ebrahim Raisi’s government banned the registration of iPhones 14 and above in 2022 and began cracking down on retailers that sold these models. The decision immediately pushed up the price of iPhone 13 on which mobile operators were still allowed to activate SIM cards.
Iranian media say huge numbers rushed to Divar, an online marketplace similar to eBay, immediately after the minister’s announcement Wednesday to sell their iPhone 13s. This model had been more expensive than the banned higher models in the past two years and its price can hugely drop if newer models become available.
Hardliners are opposed to iPhone imports mainly because Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei slammed Hassan Rouhani's government in August 2020 for allocating foreign currency to import “a certain luxury American mobile phone”.
Some also allege that using iPhones means providing Iranians' private information and data to an American company (Apple) and eventually the American government. This could have been one reason why Khamenei suggested banning iPhone imports. However, smuggles high-price models always trickled in.
The Pezeshkian government’s decision to lift the import ban initially created a wave of optimism in the Iranian mobile phone market, sparking quite a stir on Persian-language social media among iPhone enthusiasts and among around a million who own iPhones 14 and above who have been unable to register their phones and buy SIM cards in the past two years.
Many saw the lifting of the ban on iPhone imports as an achievement for Pezeshkian's government and a prelude to the lifting of internet filtering, one of Pezeshkian’s top campaign promises. He has so far failed to make the promise true due to the huge resistance of other state bodies involved in the matter.
“Lifting the ban on iPhone [imports] is an important and promising step toward removal of bigger restrictions. People's trust in the government's [abidance by its] promises to fix filtering will increase with this move,” the moderate conservative Asr-e Iran news website wrote immediately after the minister announced that the ban had been lifted.
The optimism, however, gave way to disappointment a few hours later when a government announcement revealed that the Raisi government's 96 percent import tariff on mobile phones worth 600 Euro and more would still apply.
Government Spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani soon reacted to the criticisms on X to calm the market. She stated that a mistake had occurred about the tariffs and that a decision was to be made and announced in the coming days.
Registration of all imported mobile phones on a government portal was made compulsory in 2019 by the government of Hassan Rouhani which said the plan was adopted to stop the sales of contraband handsets.
This meant that the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of all imported devices, or those brought into the country by their owners from abroad, had to be registered to allow sim card activation by mobile operators.
These commentators are individuals permitted by Iran’s Islamic establishment to voice opinions in the media, particularly on sensitive issues like foreign policy. For months, many in government-controlled media have voiced concerns about the possibility of a second Trump term, given his hardline stance toward the Islamic Republic during his first tenure.
Foreign policy analyst and former lawmaker Shahryar Heidari told Tehran's conservative Nameh News website that Donald Trump’s election would likely escalate tensions in the Middle East.
Heidari suggested that, in contrast, Kamala Harris would approach the West Asian region with more caution. However, he emphasized that US policy in the region is largely consistent, regardless of who is elected; what may shift, he explained, are the tactics used to implement that policy.
Heidari added that “both Trump and Harris fully support Israel, though Trump’s rhetoric is more hardline.” He concluded that it ultimately makes little difference for Iran whether Trump or Harris is elected. However, a Trump victory would likely have a more significant psychological impact on Iranian officials, despite his seemingly milder stance in recent weeks. His unpredictability, nonetheless, could lead to escalating tensions in the region.
International relations analyst Ali Bigdeli contended that nothing is certain in politics, so it cannot be said with confidence that Trump’s election would lead to a war between Iran and the US. He described Trump as a businessman for whom the US economy remains the top priority.
Currently, the situation of US economy is not that great, he argued, and the country is having problems about inflation and immigration. The voters believe the Republicans are more likely to be focused on domestic political issues.
Generally, Bigdeli opined, Iran may favor Harris as the next US president, as Tehran has historically had better relations with Democrats. Many Iranian politicians view Trump as a challenging leader; he was the one who withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran, resulting in significant issues for Tehran due to the sanctions he imposed.
Bigdeli also said that Iran is not going to like any of the two candidates anyway. Iranian officials tend to view any US government as "enemy." Nonetheless, Iran is not likely to favor Trump over Harris as he has closer ties with Israel.
Iran's former ambassador to London, Jalal Sadatian, told reporters that neither Trump nor Harris is likely to seek war with Iran. He noted that while Israel has consistently pushed for a US-Iran conflict, the United States has so far refused to engage in such a war.
Sadatian also remarked that polls indicating a lead for one candidate aren’t always reliable, as not everything in a US election depends solely on the popular vote. He added that, given Trump’s past dealings with Iran, there is a general expectation in Iran that a Trump victory would lead to challenging times for the country.
He added that Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu prefers Trump as he was the only US President who supported Israel's decision to move its capital to Jerusalem. However, Sadatian also pointed out that the whole political establishment in the United States is Israel's strategic ally and it does not matter which party wins the election.
“While presidents from both parties have initiated wars, one could argue that Democrats are typically ‘doves’ and Republicans ‘hawks,’” Sadatian remarked. He added that, despite the United States' longstanding support for Israel, politicians understand that any war with Iran would harm US interests in the region.
Another foreign policy analyst, Ghasem Mohebali, commented, “Trump is closer to Israeli radicals, but this doesn’t necessarily mean he supports the idea of war with Iran. Even if Trump wins the election, negotiations with Iran can’t be ruled out, although the situation is very different from 2015.”
Mohebali emphasized that the United States is reluctant to enter a war with Iran, as it would harm US interests. Conversely, he noted, Russia and China—who stand to benefit from such a conflict—might directly support Iran to strategically weaken the United States.