Kentucky Fried Chicken branch opens in Iran
The first Iranian branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 has opened in Karaj, a suburb of Tehran, in spite of crippling U.S. sanctions.
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Kentucky fried chicken
It took Amir Hossein Alizadeh, CEO of the Iran's first KFC franchise, five years to obtain the necessary national and international licences and permits to open the fast food restaurant.
RFEL reported that Alizadeh said "The name of our restaurant is KFC, but we're not an American brand. We're not an American company. With the purchase of the rights from the mother company, Iranian KFC -- and not American -- has been inaugurated."
Haaretz reported that along with the regular deep fried chicken offerings Alizadeh also plans to introduce a further 32 items to the menu to suit Iranian palates. Moreover, Alizadeh expects the branch will be the first of many, anticipating a further 500 branches will open across the Islamic Republic.
The opening is somewhat surprising at a time when tensions between the U.S. and Iran are so heightened, especially in light of sanctions. According to
Ninesmsn a similar attempt to open a branch of U.S. fast food chain McDonald's in the 1990's failed when Islamic students attacked the restaurant.
