Where is the +98 country code from?

+98 is the country code for Iran, assigned by the International Telecommunication Union. You dial it when calling INTO Iran from another country, not when calling out from inside Iran. Tehran landlines use area code 21 (so +98 21 followed by the 8-digit number), and Iranian mobile numbers run on prefixes like +98 912 (MCI), +98 935 (Irancell), and +98 920 (RighTel). If you got a missed call from a +98 number you don't recognize, it originated in Iran. From inside Iran calling out, you skip +98 entirely and use 00 + destination country code (so 00 + 1 for the United States).

Is +1 the same as 011?

+1 and 011 do related but different things. The +1 you see in front of US numbers is the US country code, used worldwide when dialing into the United States. 011 is the US international exit code, which US callers dial to call OUT of the country (so a New Yorker calling Iran would dial 011 + 98 + Tehran number). From Iran you don't use 011 at all; you use Iran's exit code 00 (or + on a mobile) followed by the US country code 1. So calling the IRS from Tehran is 00 1 267 941 1000 or +1 267 941 1000, never 011.

Will the US bank know I'm calling from Iran?

Yes, US banks see the originating country on incoming international calls through caller ID and routing metadata, and a call from an Iranian SIM will flag in their compliance system. For Iranian- American dual citizens with existing US accounts this is usually fine — Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo serve dual nationals routinely — but the rep may put a hold on certain transactions pending OFAC review. Opening a new US account while physically in Iran is generally blocked. Calls placed through WorldDialer from a third country (Yerevan, Istanbul, Dubai) show the originating country as that third country, not Iran. Be honest about location when the rep asks.

Can I receive a US bank verification SMS while in Iran?

Probably not reliably. US carriers route SMS through international gateways that have intermittent or no service to Iranian mobile networks under current sanctions, and even when messages do arrive they can be delayed by hours. Voice calls from US +1 numbers (your bank calling to verify) connect more reliably than SMS. The workaround used by most Iranian-American dual citizens: set up an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy on your phone before traveling to Iran, or maintain a US Google Voice number that forwards SMS to email. Bank apps like Chase and Bank of America support push notification verification through their own app, which works over any data connection.

How to Call US from Iran (Cheapest Way 2026)

To call the US from Iran, dial 00 + 1 + the US area code + the 7-digit number. On a mobile, you can use + in place of 00, so the IRS international line becomes +1 267 941 1000 and Chase Bank becomes +1 713 262 3300. Iran uses 00 as its international exit code — the ITU standard, the same prefix used across most of the world.

What you pay depends on which Iranian SIM is in your phone. MCI (Hamrah-e Aval) charges around 15,000-25,000 IRR/min to the US. Irancell runs 12,000-22,000 IRR/min. RighTel is in the same band. Here's the dialing format, the US numbers you'll need, and one honest caveat about payment availability that anyone calling from inside Iran needs to read before relying on anything that takes a card.

How to Dial the US from Iran

Iran's international exit code is 00. Dial 00, then 1, then the US area code and 7-digit number.

Dial 00 (Iran's international prefix)
Or use + on a mobile phone (MCI, Irancell, RighTel — all support it)
Dial 1 (US country code)
Dial the 3-digit US area code
Dial the 7-digit phone number
Example: 00 1 267 941 1000 reaches the IRS international line

That's the whole formula. The + shortcut works on every Iranian carrier. From a hotel landline, use 00 plus whatever outside-line digit the hotel uses. Iran's own country code is +98, but that's for people calling INTO Iran. You won't dial it on your way out.

What Iranian Carriers Charge to Call the US

Depends on your SIM. MCI charges around 15,000-25,000 IRR/min to the US. Irancell runs 12,000-22,000 IRR/min. RighTel is in the same band.

Carrier | Standard Rate to US | Notes

Irancell (ایرانسل) | ~12,000-22,000 IRR/min | The lower end on most postpaid tariffs.

RighTel (رایتل) | ~15,000-25,000 IRR/min | Smaller third operator; rate band similar to MCI.

MCI / Hamrah-e Aval (همراه اول) | ~15,000-25,000 IRR/min | Largest network. "International zone" standard tariff.

A 20-minute call to your US bank on MCI costs around 400,000 IRR at the upper end of the band. On Irancell, roughly 300,000 IRR. Those are the rial numbers.

Then there's the second wrinkle, which the standard country-by-country calling guide doesn't have to explain. Iran runs on two exchange rates. The official central-bank rate is roughly 42,000-50,000 IRR/USD for select trade categories. The free-market rate — the one you actually face when you buy foreign currency or pay for a foreign service — is closer to 600,000-700,000 IRR/USD as of May 2026. A 20-minute call to Chase that costs ₨400,000 on MCI works out to roughly $0.65 at the free-market rate. The rial figure on MCI's tariff page looks roughly the same year over year. The dollars-and-cents equivalent of that 20-minute call has crept up alongside the rest of the household math. Numbers stay the same on the price sheet; the rial underneath them keeps moving.

Why US Toll-Free Numbers Don't Work from Iran

They usually don't connect. US 1-800 numbers either fail outright from an Iranian carrier, or they ring through and you get billed at full international rates.

This applies to every US toll-free prefix: 1-800, 1-888, 1-877, 1-866. Dial 00 1 800 xxx xxxx and it's a coin flip whether anything happens at all.

The fix: find the company's regular +1 (NPA) number. Banks, the IRS, the SSA, USCIS, Medicare — they all publish a direct non-toll-free line for international callers. Use those (see below).

Free Apps in Iran: The Honest Picture

App-based calling availability inside Iran has been variable. WhatsApp was officially blocked in September 2022 and the government announced a partial restoration in December 2024; access has been inconsistent since. Telegram has been blocked since 2018, though usage continues. Signal, Skype, and FaceTime are blocked. We're not going to walk you through workarounds, and we're not going to mention VPNs.

When free apps do reach the person you're trying to call, they work fine for family-to-family calls — your cousin in Los Angeles, your sister in Toronto, your aunt in Houston. That part of the lane is intact when access is intact.

Free apps work for | Free apps don't work for

Family and friends with smartphones (when access is up) | US government agencies (IRS, SSA, USCIS, Medicare)

Voice and video back and forth | US banks and credit-card fraud lines

Group calls with relatives abroad | US hospitals, lawyers, accountants

Anyone who installed the app | Any number that isn't already on the app

Here's where free apps stop working regardless of access: WhatsApp only calls people who have WhatsApp. The IRS doesn't have a WhatsApp account. Neither does Chase. Neither does USCIS. Neither does Medicare. The lane those institutions answer in is the +1 PSTN landline lane, and that lane costs money from an Iranian SIM.

Your Options for Calling the US from Iran

You have four ways to call US landlines from inside Iran. Two are straightforward. One is variable. One comes with a payment-availability caveat that's specific to Iran and you should read before relying on it.

Method | Cost | Setup | Best For

Iranian mobile (standard) | 12,000-25,000 IRR/min | None | Quick institutional calls

Free apps (when accessible) | Free | App + smartphone on both ends | Personal calls, both parties on the app

WorldDialer (browser) | Pay-as-you-go to US landlines | Browser only, no app | See payment-rail note below

International calling cards (where still operating) | Varies | Card or PIN-based setup | Older method, dwindling availability

About WorldDialer from inside Iran, plainly: WorldDialer runs in a browser and connects calls to US landlines at pay-as-you-go rates. Whether the service is reachable and payable from inside Iran is a different question. Iranian-issued Shetab-network cards (Bank Mellat, Saderat, Melli, Parsian, and the rest) do not clear US payment processors under current sanctions. Visa, Mastercard, and American Express are not issued inside Iran. The practical implication is that WD is unlikely to be payable from inside Iran with an Iranian-issued card, and this article is mostly informational for Iran-resident readers calling the US.

Where WD does fit cleanly: if you're an Iranian-American traveling in a third country — Yerevan, Istanbul, Dubai, Tbilisi, Toronto — and you need to call US institutions, WD works the same way it works anywhere else in the world. The Iran-specific payment constraint doesn't follow you across the border. And if you're an Iranian-American in the US calling family back in Iran, that's the opposite direction from this article, but WD does handle outbound calling to Iran from a US payment method when the call router product is enabled on your account. Check current availability and pricing at worlddialer.com before you rely on it for anything.

US Phone Numbers You'll Actually Need

These are the non-toll-free US numbers that work from Iran. Bookmark them. The 1-800 versions will likely fail from your Iranian mobile.

Institution | Number | Hours (ET)

Chase Bank | +1 (713) 262-3300 | 24/7

Bank of America | +1 (315) 724-4022 | Mon-Fri 7 AM-10 PM, weekends 8 AM-5 PM

IRS International | +1 (267) 941-1000 | Mon-Fri 6 AM-11 PM

SSA International | +1 (410) 965-0160 | Mon-Fri 9 AM-4 PM

USCIS (outside US) | +1 (212) 620-3418 | Mon-Fri 8 AM-8 PM

Medicare (outside US) | +1 (410) 786-3000 | Mon-Fri 8 AM-7 PM

State Dept Overseas Citizens Services | +1 (202) 501-4444 | Mon-Fri business hours ET

The IRS and SSA publish these on .gov sites — they're set up for calls from overseas and they continue to serve US persons regardless of where the call originates. USCIS handles green-card, naturalization, and dual-citizenship cases on +1 (212) 620-3418, which matters for the substantial population of Iranian-American dual citizens with cases in flight. The US has had no embassy in Tehran since 1980; the Swiss embassy represents US consular interests inside Iran, and US visa interviews for Iranian applicants are routed to third-country posts — Yerevan, Dubai, Naples, and Ankara being the most common. The State Department's Overseas Citizens Services line in Washington handles US-citizen emergencies and document questions. Calling US banks from abroad covers the wider list.

One more for the Iranian-American audience: FBAR. If you're a US person with one or more Iranian bank accounts that crossed $10,000 in aggregate value at any point in the year — and rial volatility can push aggregate balances across that threshold in either direction — you have to file. FBAR has its own set of phone lines and is its own conversation. OFAC sanctions on commercial transactions are a separate regulatory track from the IRS reporting requirement; the reporting obligation applies regardless.

A 15-minute call to Chase:

On MCI: about 300,000 IRR (~$0.50 at the free-market rate)
On Irancell: about 225,000 IRR (~$0.38)
On a WhatsApp call to Chase: no such thing — Chase doesn't have a WhatsApp account

Same call. Same Chase. Different bill.

When to Call the US from Iran

Tehran is 8.5 hours ahead of US Eastern Time in winter, 7.5 ahead in summer. Iran abolished daylight saving time in 2022; the US still switches, so the gap shifts by an hour twice a year.

The half-hour offset is the part calling guides usually skip. There is no clean clock conversion between Iran and any US time zone. Add or subtract 30 minutes mentally; the wall clock won't do it for you.

Practical conversion, from Tehran:

US East Coast 9 AM-5 PM = 5:30 PM-1:30 AM Tehran (winter) / 4:30 PM-12:30 AM Tehran (summer)
IRS opens at 6 AM ET = 2:30 PM Tehran (winter) / 1:30 PM Tehran (summer) — the freshest agent window
US West Coast 9 AM-5 PM = 8:30 PM-4:30 AM Tehran (winter) / 7:30 PM-3:30 AM Tehran (summer)

The early-to-mid afternoon Tehran window is the only slot that lines up cleanly with US East Coast opening hours. Iran is a single time zone — unlike Russia's eleven or the continental US's four — so the same conversion math applies whether you're calling from Tehran, Tabriz, Mashhad, Isfahan, or Shiraz.

Call US Numbers from Iran

You have the dialing format. You have the numbers. Here's the practical close.

WorldDialer runs in a browser. No app, no subscription required, no VPN. From most countries, this is straightforward. From inside Iran, the payment side runs into the same sanctions environment that constrains everything else: Iranian-issued cards don't clear international processors, and international cards aren't issued inside the country. For Iran-resident readers calling US institutions, this article is more informational than promotional — the dialing format and the US numbers above are the practical takeaway.

For Iranian-American readers traveling in third countries — Yerevan, Istanbul, Dubai, Tbilisi, Toronto — none of the payment-rail caveat applies and WD works the same way it works for any expat anywhere. Open worlddialer.com, add credits with whatever card you use abroad, and dial.

The IRS still has your file. USCIS still has your case. Your bank still answers the same +1 line. The relationships on paper still exist. The call still connects.

→ Try WorldDialer

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