Iran mulls Samsung boycott over Israeli ad
Tehran threatens to cut ties with electronics giant after Israeli commercial features company's tablet; ad depicts Israelis destroying Iranian nuke site
Iran is mulling a plan to boycott Samsung after the South Korean electronics giant's tablet computer was featured in a humorous Israeli commercial, the Iranian state-owned channel Press TV reported Thursday.
The offending television ad depicts the cast of a popular Israeli show, Asfur, traveling to the Islamic Republic and destroying a nuclear facility. The commercial promotes a HOT Telecommunications cable deal that grants subscribers Samsung tablets.
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According to the report, the chairman of the Iranian parliament's Energy Committee, Arsalan Fat'hipour, said Thursday that Tehran is considering a bill that would impose a complete ban on all Samsung products – a measure that "would make the company regret making the insulting teaser."
The Iranian lawmaker accused Samsung of producing an ad that portrays Iran as a primitive country and implies that Israel is strong enough to obliterate the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites.
He further claimed that Samsung made the clip "to curry favor with Israel," and said an apology would not be enough. The company must be held accountable, he said.
The commercial was released weeks after the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan. The report attributed the killing to the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency.
Samsung's Dubai headquarters issued a statement denouncing the Israeli clip. A spokesperson for the companyin Tehran denied having any ties to the ad, stressing that it was produced by the Israeli cable provider, HOT.
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