Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 11
By Fatih Karimov– Trend:
Iran plans to decrease its dependence to Google company products including Android mobile operating system, the Islamic Republic’s ICT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said.
“South Korea has reduced its dependence on Google and Android; this is also on our agenda,” Azari Jahromi told to an Iranian state TV channel.
Azari Jahromi's comments came following a decision by Google to cut some of its services to Iranian users.
Last week Google Play followed Apple’s lead in removing Iranian apps from its store, citing US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Companies such as Google and Apple were hosting Iranian apps reportedly under a license issued by former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2014.
Google has also cut access for some Iranian users to its Google Analytics service.
Azari Jahromi further said that Samsung company has a plan to decrease its dependence on Google services, expressing interest to talk with the South Korean company in this regard.
Iran also can hold talks with Japan regarding the issue, Azari Jahromi said, without unveiling further details.
Azari Jahromi earlier confirmed that negotiations are underway with Twitter aimed at unblocking the service, which has been banned for years despite being used by senior Iranian officials, even the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.