A brazen iPhone scam in Iran reflects its economic struggles and tensions with the West

TEHRAN: With flashy celebrity ads and promises of deep discounts, a shop in Iran’s capital had offered consumers in the Islamic Republic one of the hottest products in the country – an iPhone that came out in 2021.

But instead of getting their hands on the handsets, police and prosecutors in Iran allege customers found themselves ensnared by a business owner running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.