Iran is threatening to ban all iPhones unless Apple officially registers a store in the country, The Japan Times reported on Tuesday, citing Iranian media.

Under the guise of an anti-smuggling effort, Iran would require the tech giant and other smartphone manufacturers to register in a national telecommunications user database. The effort is being run by the office of Iran’s president.

“If Apple will not register an official representative in Iran within the next few days, all iPhones will be collected from the market,” the director of the initiative said. While Apple does not currently sell iPhones in Iran, millions are thought to be in use in the country.

Some activists have objected to the potential mass confiscation of iPhones. One, identified only as the leader of Tehran’s IT union, also expressed concern that the user database could be hacked.

Iran announced in May that it would shut down messaging apps unless the companies moved all user data linked to Iranian citizens into the country. That ultimatum was viewed as an assault on privacy, prompting one user to complain, “Telegram’s data centres are to be moved inside the country so they can delete what they want and arrest who they want.”

[Photo: JESHOOTS / Pixabay ]