Apple in Talks With Iran About Selling iPhone

[Maura]

According to a report on AppleInsider, Apple has entered into early talks with distributors in Iran regarding officially selling the iPhone in that country.

Sources familiar with the negotiations have told The Wall Street Journal that Apple executives have been meeting with Iranian distributors at Apple’s London offices, in a bid to set up an official iPhone reseller network in Iran.

This move comes nearly a year after the U.S. started relaxing some of the sanctions imposed on Iran, and any future deals of course depend on how the diplomatic situation continues to develop. Any sudden worsening of relations could see an end to the talks.

Apparently many other Western business are also taking similar steps to tentatively test the waters regarding doing business in Iran, but AppleInsider says that the majority of those are in Europe, rather than the U.S.

The sources also say that it is likely that Apple will be using a network of premium resellers in Iran, rather than opening Apple Stores in the country, but you never know what might happen in future.

One thing’s for sure, the demand is certainly there in Iran; AppleInsider notes that in 2013 a report found that banned Apple devices were in high demand in Iran, with underground smuggling operations set up to bring the devices into the country.

Source: AppleInsider