Iran's supreme leader issues ban on Samsung, LG appliances
Khamenei's directive came after the two South Korean giants were about to make a comeback into their lucrative Iranian market following their brief sanctions-triggered departure.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered a strict ban on the imports of South Korean-made home appliances, a directive that has renewed debates on his micromanagement of the Iranian economy.
In his brief note to President Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian supreme leader ordered the hard-line cleric to "firmly block" such imports. Without naming Samsung and LG, Khamenei said the renewal of imports from "the two [South] Korean companies … will break the back of domestic manufacturers, which have just started to stand on their own feet."
Both Samsung and LG have enjoyed a booming market in Iran in the past two decades as domestic producers have largely failed to compete due to multiple issues, including state intervention, international sanctions and corruption. Skyrocketing inflation in Iran has almost tripled prices of home appliances, both domestic and imported, in the past two years, further causing turbulence in the already struggling market.
