I'm having the same problem (UAE here). I contacted Apple Support and they said that the have been restricted by the UAE from playing explicit music.
Whether this is a preemptive move by Apple as someone suggested or an actual restriction it doesn't make any sense because NO other service is restricting content this way so this is basically Apple shooting themselves in the foot.
And I actually wouldn't have cared if it was just music since I am (and now will remain) a Spotify user, but they're applying the same restrictions on Podcasts!! Seriously Apple?
Someone messed up.
Whether this is a preemptive move by Apple as someone suggested or an actual restriction it doesn't make any sense because NO other service is restricting content this way so this is basically Apple shooting themselves in the foot.
And I actually wouldn't have cared if it was just music since I am (and now will remain) a Spotify user, but they're applying the same restrictions on Podcasts!! Seriously Apple?
Someone messed up.