If Apple doesn't appoint an official representative in Iran, the country plans to ban all iPhones and collect those currently in use. The move is part of an anti-smuggling campaign and since iPhones are often smuggled into Iran, the government claims it is fighting the black market. Under the plan, every mobile phone must be registered with the country's telecommunications user database.

While it has worked on entering the Iranian market, Apple still isn't an official business entity in the country. Iran says there is no legal barrier preventing Apple from operating in the market.

According to The Japan Times, around 40 million Iranians own smartphones and many of them are using smuggled iPhones.

There are concerns about how the registration data will be used by the government as well as concerns about the database being hacked.