---
title: MTN clarifies medium-term withdrawal from Iran - Developing Telecoms
description: MTN Group has stated that its exit from the Middle East will be more gradual than imminent, adding that it will withdraw from Iran over the next three to five years.
canonical_url: https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news/9880-mtn-clarifies-medium-term-withdrawal-from-iran.html
language: en-GB
date: 2020-08-12T11:26:33Z
notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news/9880-mtn-clarifies-medium-term-withdrawal-from-iran.html. Schema.org structured data included at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers.
markdown-tokens: 1082
---

> **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news/9880-mtn-clarifies-medium-term-withdrawal-from-iran.html. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content.
> **Structured data** as JSON-LD may be found at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers.
> **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above.


 [Operators](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news.html)## MTN clarifies medium-term withdrawal from Iran

 

 

   Details    James Barton    Category: [Operators](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news.html)     12 August 2020     13755 views   

 

  ![MTN clarifies medium-term withdrawal from Iran](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Places/800x600/Tehran_sky_600_credit.jpg)  

 

MTN Group has stated that its exit from the Middle East will be more gradual than imminent, adding that it will withdraw from Iran over the next three to five years.

Local media outlets had reported that MTN Irancell was set to suspend operations immediately, prompting the operator and its parent group to state that services would run “as usual” and that customers would continue “to receive the great service they have come to expect”.

MTN further clarified that it would begin its withdrawal process in Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, stating that it would divest its Middle Eastern units “in an orderly manner over the medium term.”

South Africa headquartered MTN Group holds a 49% stake in MTN Irancell. [Last week, the group’s departing CEO Rob Shuter confirmed that it was set to focus on its core African markets, exiting the Middle East in the process.](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news/9864-mtn-to-exit-middle-east-over-medium-term-amid-renewed-africa-focus.html)

 

 

   
## More Articles you may be Interested in...

<!-- AI:SCHEMA: Schema.org description of canonical page in JSON-LD format -->
<!-- AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN format=jsonld scope=page -->

```json
{
    "@context": "http:\/\/schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Article",
            "author": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/mail.developingtelecoms.com\/#james_barton_4d6427c012"
            },
            "dateModified": "2020-08-12T11:26:33Z",
            "datePublished": "2020-08-12T11:26:33Z",
            "description": "MTN Group has stated that its exit from the Middle East will be more gradual than imminent, adding that it will withdraw from Iran over the next three to five years.",
            "headline": "MTN clarifies medium-term withdrawal from Iran",
            "image": [
                {
                    "@type": "ImageObject",
                    "url": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/images\/stories\/Places\/Tehran_sky_600_credit.jpg",
                    "caption": "",
                    "description": "MTN clarifies medium-term withdrawal from Iran",
                    "width": 600,
                    "height": 450
                }
            ],
            "inLanguage": "en-GB",
            "mainEntityOfPage": {
                "@type": "WebPage",
                "url": "https:\/\/mail.developingtelecoms.com\/telecom-business\/operator-news\/9880-mtn-clarifies-medium-term-withdrawal-from-iran.html"
            },
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/mail.developingtelecoms.com\/#defaultPublisher"
            },
            "url": "https:\/\/mail.developingtelecoms.com\/telecom-business\/operator-news\/9880-mtn-clarifies-medium-term-withdrawal-from-iran.html"
        },
        {
            "@type": "Person",
            "name": "James Barton",
            "@id": "https:\/\/mail.developingtelecoms.com\/#james_barton_4d6427c012"
        },
        {
            "@id": "https:\/\/mail.developingtelecoms.com\/#defaultPublisher",
            "@type": "Organization",
            "url": "https:\/\/mail.developingtelecoms.com\/",
            "logo": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/mail.developingtelecoms.com\/#defaultLogo"
            },
            "name": "Developing Telecoms"
        },
        {
            "@id": "https:\/\/mail.developingtelecoms.com\/#defaultLogo",
            "@type": "ImageObject",
            "url": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/images\/stories\/highResLogos\/dt-site-logo-440.png",
            "width": "440",
            "height": "122"
        }
    ]
}
```

<!-- AI:SCHEMA:END -->