While local and foreign media reported that Iranian iPhone users’ access to Apple’s App Store services has been blocked by the California-based firm on Thursday, Tehran’s residents reported getting access to the services again on Friday.
This is not the first time Iranian Apple enthusiasts find themselves unable to access such services and such developments have become a regular headache for iPhone users in the country.
On Thursday, users who tried to visit the App Store in Iran received a message reading, “The App Store is unavailable in the country or region you’re in.”
This was not the first time Apple blocked any traffic coming from inside Iran to access the App Store. However, it’s still not clear what prompted the move.
Last August, in an underhand move, Apple removed applications of several Iranian firms from the company’s iOS App Store.
The American company removed consumer apps of several Iranian online businesses, including Delion (food delivery service), DigiKala (Amazon-like retailer), AloPeyk (parcel delivery service), Takhfifan (group buying website), and Alibaba (online travel agency). Some of the apps have been back on App Store since.
There are no accurate statistics on the number of iPhones in Iran. However, while Apple does not offer services in the country, it is estimated that at least 5 million Iranians have an iOS handset.
Nevertheless, there are dozens of stores dedicated to sales and after-sales services for Apple products in the country set up by local businesses.
