Apple, other big businesses eye Iranian market after nuclear deal, report says

Posted:
in General Discussion edited July 2015
Just hours after the U.S. and five world powers entered into an agreement with Iran to remove sanctions in return for a reduction in nuclear weapons capability, companies like Apple are actively looking for inroads into the starved market.


Apple iPhone 6 advertised on unauthorized Iranian reseller Hesam. | Source: Hesam.ir


People familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that Apple is in discussions with potential Iranian distributors to reopen sales channels in the region. Other big American corporations like Boeing and General Electric are also said to be investigating reentry or possible expansions to current sales operations.

On Tuesday, the U.S. agreed to lift a number of economic sanctions on Iran if the country follows through on promises to temporarily reduce its ability to research and build nuclear weapons.

In some ways, the blanket ban only heightened demand for the Apple's desirable wares, specifically iPhones and iPads, which were at one point considered rare. In 2012, a report profiling an underground Iranian Apple market noted unauthorized imports made access to such devices commonplace among Iranians of status. At the time, one store owner was quoted as saying business was "booming."

When President Barack Obama pushed for regulatory changes toward a more relaxed stance in 2013, Apple announced it would begin selling products to customers planning to take the devices back to Iran. Some reports claimed the decision to loosen restrictions on electronics was part of a U.S. plan to get high-tech devices into the hands of citizens protesting the Iranian government.

Apple reportedly started working on Iranian sales in earnest last October, when the company was said to be in early stage talks with distributors. At the time, Apple was rumored to be eyeing a franchise-style business model akin to device reseller contracts currently active in parts of Europe and Asia.
«1345

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 83
    rmb0037rmb0037 Posts: 142member
    That camera bulge looks much smaller in that pic...

    iPhone 6S confirmed.
  • Reply 2 of 83
    9secondko9secondko Posts: 929member
    Hopefully Apple stays away from Iran.

    The nuclear deal is a mistake.

    And Iran is one of the worst nations to be allowed to have such power.

    They've already declared Israel is a target to be removed from the map years ago and link the U.S. to Israel in their thinking.

    Apple don't do it.
  • Reply 3 of 83

    Interesting. In Iran they force homosexuals to have sex change surgery or they kill them. I guess money talks?

  • Reply 4 of 83
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    9secondko wrote: »
    Hopefully Apple stays away from Iran.

    The nuclear deal is a mistake.

    And Iran is one of the worst nations to be allowed to have such power.

    They've already declared Israel is a target to be removed from the map years ago and link the U.S. to Israel in their thinking.

    Apple don't do it.

    Golly, why would they do that?
  • Reply 5 of 83
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    9secondko wrote: »
    Hopefully Apple stays away from Iran.

    The nuclear deal is a mistake.

    And Iran is one of the worst nations to be allowed to have such power.

    They've already declared Israel is a target to be removed from the map years ago and link the U.S. to Israel in their thinking.

    Apple don't do it.

    You're a fool if you believe Iran will touch Israel or America. It's all propaganda to serve their agenda in maintaining control over Syria and Lebanon. They have their eyes set on the rich gulf countries.
  • Reply 6 of 83
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,309member

    Or, you might have an actual understanding of the Middle East and Iran as Juan Cole has;

     

    http://www.juancole.com/2015/07/netanyahu-trying-world.html

     

     

    excerpt from the link;

     

    Quote

     

    1. One sign Iran is not trying to take over the world is that, as I have written before, “it has a small military budget, about $10 bn., on the order of that of Norway or Singapore. It has no air force to speak of. The US military budget is roughly 80 times that of Iran.”

     

    Israel has both a more powerful military and hundreds of nuclear weapons at its disposal. Allied with the U.S., there is a powerful deterrent to Iran using a nuclear weapon, that all players acknowledge that they do not have. Now, they will not be able to even attempt to build one, because of the oversight built into the deal.

  • Reply 7 of 83
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,309member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post





    You're a fool if you believe Iran will touch Israel or America. It's all propaganda to serve their agenda in maintaining control over Syria and Lebanon. They have their eyes set on the rich gulf countries.

    Nice propaganda you have there. Iran is certainly allied with Shiite forces and governments, but the major threats to the region are aligned with the Saudis;

     

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-yousaf-butt-/saudi-wahhabism-islam-terrorism_b_6501916.html

     

    "For instance, a Wikileaks cable clearly quotes then-Secretary of State Hillary Clintonsaying "donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide." She continues: "More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups." And it's not just the Saudis: Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are also implicated in the memo. Other cables released by Wikileaks outline how Saudi front companies are also used to fund terrorism abroad."

    Origins of the 19  Hijackers on 9-11;

     

    Saudi Arabia   15

    United Arab Emirates 3

    Egypt 1

    Lebanon 1

     

    Gee, no Iraqis, no Iranians to be found involved.

     

    Yet somehow, Americans believed that Iraq had some culpability, and went to war, to the tune of a couple of trillion dollars, without much success, and would be ready to try again with Iran, because evil or something.

  • Reply 8 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tmay View Post

     

    Or, you might have an actual understanding of the Middle East and Iran as Juan Cole has;

     

    http://www.juancole.com/2015/07/netanyahu-trying-world.html

     

     

    excerpt from the link;

     

    Quote

     

    1. One sign Iran is not trying to take over the world is that, as I have written before, “it has a small military budget, about $10 bn., on the order of that of Norway or Singapore. It has no air force to speak of. The US military budget is roughly 80 times that of Iran.”

     

    Israel has both a more powerful military and hundreds of nuclear weapons at its disposal. Allied with the U.S., there is a powerful deterrent to Iran using a nuclear weapon, that all players acknowledge that they do not have. Now, they will not be able to even attempt to build one, because of the oversight built into the deal.




    Right. "Oversight" is almost non-existant. This is Neville Chamberlain 2015.

     

    If it was real "oversight", we wouldn't have to give two weeks notice, and the Iranians couldn't say "no" or "No, you can't see that part".

     

    Iran got everything they wanted, the US didn't get squat.

     

    And I would remind you of the disparity in military budgets between Imperial Japan and the US circa 1941.

  • Reply 9 of 83
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,309member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

     



    Right. "Oversight" is almost non-existant. This is Neville Chamberlain 2015.

     

    If it was real "oversight", we wouldn't have to give two weeks notice, and the Iranians couldn't say "no" or "No, you can't see that part".

     

    Iran got everything they wanted, the US didn't get squat.

     

    And I would remind you of the disparity in military budgets between Imperial Japan and the US circa 1941.


    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/14/iran-nuclear-programme-world-powers-historic-deal-lift-sanctions

    "Among the conditions of the agreement are:


    •  Iran will reduce its enrichment capacity by two-thirds. It will stop using its underground facility at Fordow for enriching uranium.

    • Iran’s stockpile of low enriched uranium will be reduced to 300kg, a 96% reduction. It will achieve this reduction either by diluting it or shipping it out of the country.

    • The core of the heavy water reactor in Arak will be removed, and it will be redesigned in such a way that it will not produce significant amounts of plutonium.

    • Iran will allow UN inspectors to enter sites, including military sites, when the inspectors have grounds to believe undeclared nuclear activity is being carried out there. It can object but a multinational commission can override any objections by majority vote. After that Iran will have three days to comply. Inspectors will only come from countries with diplomatic relations with Iran, so no Americans.

    • Once the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified that Iran has taken steps to shrink its programme, UN, US and EU sanctions will be lifted.

    • Restrictions on trade in conventional weapons will last another five years, and eight years in the case of ballistic missile technology.

    • If there are allegations that Iran has not met its obligations, a joint commission will seek to resolve the dispute for 30 days. If that effort fails it would be referred to the UN security council, which would have to vote to continue sanctions relief. A veto by a permanent member would mean that sanctions are reimposed. The whole process would take 65 days."

    Gee, it seems almost too easy for a single permanent member, aka the U.S., to reimpose sanctions in a dispute of compliance. Certainly you weren't thinking of that when you mentioned the the U.S. didn't get squat.

  • Reply 10 of 83
    bobschlobbobschlob Posts: 1,074member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

     
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tmay View Post

     

    Or, you might have an actual understanding of the Middle East and Iran as Juan Cole has;

     

    http://www.juancole.com/2015/07/netanyahu-trying-world.html

     

     

    excerpt from the link;

     

    Quote

     

    1. One sign Iran is not trying to take over the world is that, as I have written before, “it has a small military budget, about $10 bn., on the order of that of Norway or Singapore. It has no air force to speak of. The US military budget is roughly 80 times that of Iran.”

     

    Israel has both a more powerful military and hundreds of nuclear weapons at its disposal. Allied with the U.S., there is a powerful deterrent to Iran using a nuclear weapon, that all players acknowledge that they do not have. Now, they will not be able to even attempt to build one, because of the oversight built into the deal.




    Right. "Oversight" is almost non-existant. This is Neville Chamberlain 2015.

     

    If it was real "oversight", we wouldn't have to give two weeks notice, and the Iranians couldn't say "no" or "No, you can't see that part".

     

    Iran got everything they wanted, the US didn't get squat.

     

    And I would remind you of the disparity in military budgets between Imperial Japan and the US circa 1941.




    You have no idea what you're talking about.

    Go back to your bunker.

    And please stay there.

  • Reply 11 of 83
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    Right. "Oversight" is almost non-existant. This is Neville Chamberlain 2015.

    If it was real "oversight", we wouldn't have to give two weeks notice, and the Iranians couldn't say "no" or "No, you can't see that part".

    Iran got everything they wanted, the US didn't get squat.

    And I would remind you of the disparity in military budgets between Imperial Japan and the US circa 1941.

    I really feel pity for people like you, who mindlessly regurgitate trash from the usual suspects, in such a timely fashion. God forbid you ever do some real, objective research into the issues you pretend to have such a strong opinion about, yet are utterly clueless, besides your extremely ideological agenda. Why shouldn't the Iranian people have access to Apple products? Why does this enrage and offend you so much? I know for you, the only possible options are to either bomb Iran or starve them out of existence with sanctions, forever, but thankfully there's people in the world that see beyond such binary and destructive options, and have a vision to move forward.

    Honestly, the only thing more irritating than your posts, is your mind-numbing signature. "Bully pulpit"? Right. Maybe you can find us the poor souls who are being "bullied" and victimized by Cook, and we can hear stories of their traumatic suffering. And by victims, I don't mean people like you, who get offended and enraged when other people get the same basic rights as you do.
  • Reply 12 of 83
    9secondko9secondko Posts: 929member
    nasserae wrote: »
    You're a fool if you believe Iran will touch Israel or America. It's all propaganda to serve their agenda in maintaining control over Syria and Lebanon. They have their eyes set on the rich gulf countries.

    Oh right... Because Iran has zero ties with other Islamic terrorist nations and groups...

    So enlightening.
  • Reply 13 of 83
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

     

    And I would remind you of the disparity in military budgets between Imperial Japan and the US circa 1941.


     

    Imperial Japan spent 65% of its budget on military spending in 1940.  Not sure why you're using that as an example.

  • Reply 14 of 83
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    tmay wrote: »
    Nice propaganda you have there. Iran is certainly allied with Shiite forces and governments, but the major threats to the region are aligned with the Saudis;

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-yousaf-butt-/saudi-wahhabism-islam-terrorism_b_6501916.html

    <p style="border:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);margin-bottom:15px;vertical-align:baseline;">"For instance, a Wikileaks cable <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/242073" style="color:rgb(3,73,126);margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" target="_blank">clearly quotes then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton</a>
    saying "donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide." She continues: "More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups." And it's not just the Saudis: Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are also implicated in the memo. Other cables released by Wikileaks outline how <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding" style="color:rgb(3,73,126);margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" target="_blank">Saudi front companies</a>
     are also used to fund terrorism abroad."</p>

    <span style="line-height:1.4em;">Origins of the 19  Hijackers on 9-11;</span>


    Saudi Arabia   15
    United Arab Emirates 3
    Egypt 1
    Lebanon 1

    Gee, no Iraqis, no Iranians to be found involved.

    Yet somehow, Americans believed that Iraq had some culpability, and went to war, to the tune of a couple of trillion dollars, without much success, and would be ready to try again with Iran, because evil or something.

    Remind me again who armed & trained Al-Qaida & Taliban in the first place? Oh yes.. The U.S. did so they can fight the Russians.
  • Reply 15 of 83
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    9secondko wrote: »
    Oh right... Because Iran has zero ties with other Islamic terrorist nations and groups...

    So enlightening.

    Where do you think Hezbolla and Asad regime are located?!
  • Reply 16 of 83
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    9secondko wrote: »
    Hopefully Apple stays away from Iran.

    The nuclear deal is a mistake.

    And Iran is one of the worst nations to be allowed to have such power.

    They've already declared Israel is a target to be removed from the map years ago and link the U.S. to Israel in their thinking.

    Apple don't do it.

    Wish I could unread your post, I feel like I lost half my brain cells just reading it, utterly mind-numbing. The "Iran plans to attack Israel/US fear-mongering garbage has gotten so old, it's quite embarrassing to listen to. People like Netnyahu have been saying this will happen "any day now" for the past 20 years. Come up with something new.

    And even if that little fantasy of yours was the case, how would the sale of Apple products to citizens of Iran aid in that goal? Or are you so deluded and bigoted that you believe the average Iranian is evil and a terrorist, which is why the idea disgusts you so much ? Unreal.
  • Reply 17 of 83
    williamlondonwilliamlondon Posts: 1,324member

    Anyone wishing to learn a bit more about some of the (US & UK) history with Iran should read All the Shah's Men, by Stephen Kinzer. It reads like a fictional suspense/thriller with international excitement at the centre, but it's non-fiction, and very enjoyable.

  • Reply 18 of 83
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,309member
     
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post





    Where do you think Hezbolla and Asad regime are located?!

    The U.S. has ties to all kinds of terrorist groups, depending on usefulness at the time, but this time Iranians are fighting against them on our side.

     

    http://www.juancole.com/2015/07/daesh-ensure-nuclear.html

     

    "In Iraq on Tuesday, Iraq militias and the Iraqi military launched a counter-attack on Falluja with the ultimate aim of driving Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) out of al-Anbar Province.

    The operation follows the successful liberation of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, from Daesh by these same forces. In the second half of the Tikrit campaign, the administration of President Barack Obama joined the fray, giving operational support to the Iraqi forces, including the pro-Iran Shiite militias and their Iranian advisers."

    and;

     

    "For those European leaders who take the threat of Daesh seriously, a new relationship with Iran seems essential. Iran has been the most effective regional power in rolling back Daesh conquests. Without Iran, Daesh would still dominate parts of Diyala Province and would still have the city of Tikrit.

    In contrast, neither Saudi Arabia nor Israel has been the least bit helpful in the fight against Daesh."

     

     

  • Reply 19 of 83
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    tmay wrote: »
    <p style="border:0px;color:rgb(36,36,36);padding-bottom:21px;vertical-align:baseline;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);line-height:1.4em;">Or, you might have an actual understanding of the Middle East and Iran as Juan Cole has;</span>
    </p>


    http://www.juancole.com/2015/07/netanyahu-trying-world.html


    excerpt from the link;

    Quote

    1. One sign Iran is not trying to take over the world is that, as I have written before, “it has a small military budget, about $10 bn., on the order of that of Norway or Singapore. It has no air force to speak of. The US military budget is roughly 80 times that of Iran.”

    Israel has both a more powerful military and hundreds of nuclear weapons at its disposal. Allied with the U.S., there is a powerful deterrent to Iran using a nuclear weapon, that all players acknowledge that they do not have. Now, they will not be able to even attempt to build one, because of the oversight built into the deal.

    What, talking common sense to those that believe every thing said on Fox News? Why waste your time. ;)
  • Reply 20 of 83
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 9secondko View Post



    Hopefully Apple stays away from Iran.



    The nuclear deal is a mistake.



    And Iran is one of the worst nations to be allowed to have such power.



    They've already declared Israel is a target to be removed from the map years ago and link the U.S. to Israel in their thinking.



    Apple don't do it.



    I agree but the profit motive overrules both ethics and politics. American corporations were doing business with Nazi Germany right up to the start of WWII, and some even after that.

Sign In or Register to comment.