Al Jazeera reports that traders are using routes through Iraq as conventional imports fall, while buyers must pay registration charges to keep imported phones connected beyond 30 days.
Electronics continue to reach Iran despite disrupted import routes, but getting a new phone into the country—and keeping it connected—has become more costly. Al Jazeera’s October 23 report describes traders turning to overland routes through Iraq while government charges make phones harder for consumers to afford.
Iran’s southern ports previously handled most of its imports. Al Jazeera reports that a months-long US naval blockade now affects those ports, while the nearly eight-month war with the US and Israel has disrupted trade through the Strait of Hormuz. Many electronics had entered Iran through Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE announced a halt to trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran on August 19. Some traders turned to passengers arriving from Oman, but Al Jazeera reports that few flights were landing after US sanctions on Iranian airlines and their service providers took effect in September.
A Tehran phone trader, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told Al Jazeera that most phones were being smuggled into Iran, with many passing through Sulaimaniyah in Iraq’s Kurdish region before entering by land. There are no clear figures for the volume of smuggled phones.
New products still arrived quickly: Apple’s iPhone 18 models went on sale in downtown Tehran within days of their September 18 release in the United States, according to Al Jazeera. Apple has no physical presence in Iran because of international sanctions.
Official import figures show a sharp contraction. Al Jazeera cited customs chief Foroud Asgari’s mid-August remarks to state media: approximately one million phones had been imported in the first five months of the current Iranian year, compared with 3.16 million in the same period a year earlier. Asgari said their import value had fallen by approximately 70 percent.
The October 26 meeting in Tehran brought Iran together with three countries bound by a defence pact, producing a commitment to further regional dialogue.
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Bringing a phone into Iran does not secure lasting mobile service. Imported devices work on mobile networks for only 30 days unless a government registration fee is paid. Al Jazeera reports that import duties vary with the phone’s value.
| Phone value | Import duty |
|---|---|
| Below €600 | Up to 6 percent |
| €600–€900 | Up to 15 percent |
| Above €900 | Up to 30 percent |
Other levies and warranties from domestic companies add to the bill. For some phones, Al Jazeera reports, these extra charges together can account for more than half of the total price paid.
Those costs meet severely constrained household budgets. Al Jazeera puts the monthly minimum wage plus basic government subsidies for an average married worker at the equivalent of $83.
Afsaneh, a Tehran teacher considering replacing her iPhone 13 with an iPhone 17, told Al Jazeera that she would need to sell her current phone, use her savings and borrow from her parents. She said many peers and acquaintances could not afford upgrades and were keeping older devices working through repairs or replacement parts where possible.
Iranian officials said the 26 October meeting in Tehran opened discussions with members of the Mecca defence pact. Their account, not confirmed by Saudi Arabia or its allies, described an agreement to continue talks on regional cooperation.
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Launched during the war with the US and Israel, the Janfada campaign is reaching schools as the Basij militia plans more civilian training stations.
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