TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iranian users of Apple’s mobile operating system are unable to access applications, fueling speculation of yet another hostile move by the American tech company targeting Iran.
The iOS versions of Apple application provided in Iran are not accessible since Wednesday, media reports said.
Several Iranian banks, online payment firms as well as ride-hailing and food delivery services have notified their mobile app users via text messages that the access to the iOS software has been blocked due to certain "restrictions imposed by the Apple company,” the reports said.
Apple has not yet commented on the reports.
The tech company has no formal operations in Iran due to unilateral sanctions imposed by the US on the Islamic Republic. That, however, has not stopped Iranian technology lovers from buying Apple iPhones — which are being smuggled into the country among other Apple devices.
The U.S. once removed its economic sanctions against Iran in 2016, months after a multinational nuclear deal with Iran took effect, prompting Apple to get in touch with Iranian distributors to examine the possibility of entering the country.
The sanctions, however, were reinstalled when the U.S. abandoned the nuclear deal in May last year.
In late 2017, months before Washington’s withdrawal from the deal, Apple removed apps originating in Iran from the App Store, citing American sanctions.
Iranian Telecommunications Minister Muhammad Javad Azari Jahromi took to Twitter then to complain about the move and said, "11 percent of the cellphone market in Iran belongs to Apple.”
"Respecting customer rights is a principle today that Apple hasn’t abided by. We will legally pursue the omission of apps,” he wrote.