Tehran, Iran, January 22
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
While KFC has been given a reopening permit by the Iranian Court of Administrative Justice, reports say that the giant fast food chain - McDonald's, is also eyeing the Iranian market.
KFC reopened after it had been closed down about two months ago under pressure from Iranian conservatives, Tasnim news agency reported.
The report said the closing was originated by the similarity of the fast food restaurant's name to the US-based Kentucky Fried Chicken. However, Abbas Pazooki, manager of the restaurant, had denied any link with Kentucky Fried Chicken.
There are also reports that McDonald's is recruiting volunteers for opening branches in Iran.
On its website, McDonald's has started a signup of applicants for a branch in Iran.
McDonald's managers started efforts to open a branch in Iran about six months ago, but their efforts were hampered by a series of guidelines by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani stressed that the Iranian market should be free of US-based consumer product brands.
Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli later explained the issue of closing down KFC, saying that the policy to ban such brands was adopted because they "symbolized the dominance of certain powers."