In Iran, Business Deals Rarely Smooth

TEHRAN—Despite the euphoria inside Iran over an end to sanctions, the country remains a place where Apple Inc. won’t sell the iPhone, oil giant Eni SpA is quarreling over past outlays, and Boeing Co. hasn’t sold spare parts because of pricing disagreements.

The Islamic Republic has a lingering reputation as a difficult place for outsiders to do business. Even with Tuesday’s Vienna accord, foreign businesses looking for new markets would find Iran a country that ranks a lowly 130th on the World Bank’s ease-of-doing business list, and a place where bureaucracy, episodic corruption and political interference have long been encountered. 

“This is a market where you are going to need to do a lot of homework,” said Peter Harrell,a former deputy assistant secretary for counter threat finance and sanctions at the U.S. State Department.

Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal.