Apple bans all traffic to its’ app store coming from Iran

Apple has a policy of not selling any of its products in Iran, and now it has decided to block off all access to its app store in Iran. Previously, apple users in the country were allowed to view and download apps from the App Store.

In August 2017, the tech giant deleted all the apps that were developed by Iranian developers from its App Store, following the US-imposed economic sanctions. Apple even considered the possibility of expanding its business in Iran during 2015 when the US-Iran relationship seemed as if it was smoothening.

"Users were not able to connect to the Apple App Store to install or update applications. When visiting the App Store, they were instead greeted with the message 'the App Store is unavailable in the country or region you're in'," a user reported on Friday. According to Meysam Firouzi, an Iranian security researcher, he could successfully connect to the App Store while using a VPN despite having Iran-related details set on his account which indicates that the ban is IP-based.

This move leaves us with an important conclusion that no matter how fast or capable a country’s infrastructure is, ultimately the political climate of a country will decide how advanced it is allowed to be.