First KFC in Iran closed after 24 hours for being too American

Baku. 4 November. REPORT.AZ/ A KFC-branded fried chicken restaurant that opened its doors Sunday night in Iran's capital city of Tehran was shut down after just one day in operation, Report informs referring to the foreign media. 

The restaurant, KFC Halal, which Iranian news agency Tasnim called "the first American branch" of its kind, had set up shop in West Tehran after seemingly obtaining approval from the country's Ministry of Industry, Trade and Mines, and showed happy customers lining up for chicken on its website and Instagram page.

But by Tuesday, Iranian police had shut it down. A sign posted on its door read it was "closed until further notice." The reason given: Its decor too closely resembles the U.S. flag, and its presence "can be seen as a part of American influence into Iranian culture," the agency says. "The U.S. is one of Iran's major enemies and this will have grave dangers for the country."

"The shutting down of Halal KFC was due to a misunderstanding," the store's manager, Abbas Pazuki, reportedly said. "We are part of a brand known as Halal KFC, which comes from Turkey. It belongs to Muslims and its target market is Muslim nations," he clarified. That KFC, he says, is a "rival of the American KFC."