Iran Pressures Samsung: "May Ban Employee Entry and Smartphone Registration"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the 18th (local time), Iran's state-run PressTV reported, citing a senior official from Iran's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, that the Iranian government may ban Samsung executives and employees from entering the country and prevent the registration of Samsung Electronics smartphones within Iran.

According to the report, Mohammad Jafar Nanakkar, Director of the Legal Department at Iran's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, warned, "A series of measures against Samsung have been prepared." This was a pressure tactic indicating that punitive actions could be taken as Samsung Electronics appears to be withdrawing from the Iranian market and scaling back services to avoid U.S. sanctions against Iran.

PressTV stated that these remarks came after it became known that the Galaxy Store service, which allows the use of Samsung's smartphone-exclusive applications (apps), would be blocked in Iran. Currently, only free apps from the Galaxy Store can be downloaded in Iran, while paid apps have been suspended.

Director Nanakkar said, "If Samsung does not resume selling apps on the Galaxy Store, we should be aware that there are legal ways to respond accordingly." He added, "The restriction of Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Store service will cause significant difficulties for Iranian app developers," and further noted, "If Samsung does not reconsider, we will also consider alternatives by cooperating more with Chinese companies such as Huawei and Xiaomi."

Nanakkar also warned that he is responsible for screening foreign nationals who wish to do business in Iran's telecommunications market and that there may be measures to ban Samsung Electronics executives and employees from entering Iran. Additionally, he mentioned that a ban on the registration of Samsung Electronics smartphones on Iran's mobile networks is also under consideration. PressTV expects that a complete ban on Samsung smartphone registration would affect millions of users within Iran.

Earlier, on the 12th, Seyed Abbas Mousavi, spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted on his Twitter account a photo of Samsung's sign being removed along with a warning message stating, "It will be very difficult for foreign companies that leave Iran by joining U.S. sanctions to return to Iran."