An Illegitimate KFC restaurant that opened in the Iranian capital city of Tehran was shut down almost immediately after it opened.
The restaurant was referred to by many as the “first American branch of its kind”. The fast food restaurant set up shop in the western part of Tehran, and it seemed like customers were happy to have the new location. Instagram photos showed customers lining up on opening day.
Additionally, reports say that the Iranian Ministry of Industry, Trade and Mines approved of the new restaurant.
However, it wasn’t long before Iranian police broke up the party and shut the location down. A sign that was posted on the door of the establishment said “closed until further notice”.
According to Iranian officials, the décor of the building was said to have closely resembled the United States flag, and they did not want American influence on Iranian culture. They went on to say that the United States is a major enemy of Iran and establishing such a location will lead to critical dangers for their country.
However, the store’s manager Abbas Pazuki says that the situation is a big misunderstanding. According to the manager, the restaurant wasn’t actually an American KFC franchise, but rather it was a brand known as Halal KFC, which came from Turkey and is owned by Muslims. He says that Halal KFC and American KFC are rivals, despite having a virtually identical appearance.
Meanwhile the American KFC is not happy about the entire situation.
KFC spokesperson Laurie Schalow said, “We are shocked with the news that an illegitimate KFC outlet has opened in Tehran, Iran. No franchise rights have been granted to any party in Iran. We are in contact with local authorities and external advisers and will be filing a legal action against any company or individuals claiming to have rights to open KFC.”
According to the Head of the Iranian Trade Chamber Ali Fazli, the American KFC was not involved in this situation. Fazli said that no Western fast food company has any locations in the country of Iran.
While it may have seemed that Iran was starting to come together with Western forces after its recent nuclear weapons negotiations, it’s clear that the country still doesn’t want to be associated with America and the rest of the Western world in any shape or form.
It’s still just Iran being Iran.
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