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According to spglobal.com, Mohsen Parvan said for the full year to March 2019, Iran's steel exports may equal last year's record of over nine million tons, as links with existing steel trade partners, particularly in the Middle East, Russia, China and the EU, have largely remained in place.

"Iran has so far exported six million tons of steel since March 21, 2018, similar to the previous year. At least half is semi-finished products such as billet and slab," Parvan said in an interview in London last week.

Billet steel is being supplied to Oman for rerolling, with other customers in Qatar, Iraq, the UAE, CIS nations including Ukraine and Kazakhstan and small amounts being sold into the EU, specifically Germany, Spain and Italy, he said.

Starting August 6, 2018, the US reimposed secondary sanctions on trade to and from Iran in steel and aluminum products, gold and precious metals, graphite and coal, giving non-US persons 90 days in which to wind down their steel/metal trade activities with the country or risk US enforcement action.

Other sectors of Iran's economy, including oil, energy and shipping, were affected from November, 2018.

The European Parliament passed a blocking action in early August protecting EU citizens and governments from the impact of the US secondary sanctions.

The EU and other governments, including the UK, Germany, France, Russia and China — which remain committed to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which the US withdrew last May — could thus take steps to protect their countries' businesses and trade with Iran, Sue Millar, London-based partner in international law firm Stephenson Harwood said at the time.

A significant weakening of the rial since the US announced it was reimposing sanctions means Iran's steel remains competitive on world markets. This, sources say, has helped boost Iranian exports of finished, higher-value added products in recent months.

The latest figures from the Iranian Steel Producers' Association (ISPA) show exports totaled 5.273 million tons of steel products during March 21-November 21, 2018 including 1.92 million tons of finished products, up 104 percent year-on-year, and 3.335 million tons of semi-finished products, down 21 percent, compared with around 5.165 million tons in the year-ago period, which included 940,000 tons of finished and 4.225 million tons of semi-finished products.

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Secretary of the Headquarter for the Development of Aeronautics Technology of Iran's Vice Presidency for Science and Technology Manouchehr Manteqi said that Iran started the project to produce an advanced passenger plane in early 2017.

He put the current physical progress of manufacturing this advanced aircraft at about eight percent.

Announcing the operation date of this giant project depends on two important factors, he said, adding, "Continuous and nonstop allocation of budget to this project is one of the most important factors to keep it going in full swing."

He called on relevant officials to take effective steps to allocate funds for the completion of this important project.

He cited gaining international certificates as the second important factor, adding, "Effective steps have been taken in this respect."

"Engineers of knowledge-based companies have been hired for this important project with the aim of delivering a completely domestic-manufactured product."

Iran has made huge progress in science and technology in recent years.

Iran's Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari announced early in December, 2018 that Iran enjoys top position among nations of the region in the production of science and technology.

"Now, Iran ranks first in the region in science and technology," Sattari said.

Also, in June, Sattari underlined that Iran's international ranking in science production had risen from 34th to 16th.

"Iran ranks first in West Asia in terms of science output with the number of its college students rising to 4.8 million from 2.4 million," Sattari said in an address to the Second Iran-Europe Cooperation Conference in Brussels, Belgium.

Sattari said that there were 47 million Internet users in Iran who constitute nearly half of the total Internet users in the Middle East, and added, "Iran ranks first in the Middle East for production of biological drugs."

He said that Iran had one of the most successful biotech companies with young and skilled staff aged 33 on the average which exported biological drugs to 10 countries, Sattari said.

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Director General of Chabahar Free Trade Zone Organization Abdul Rahim Kordi announced that more than 3,000 companies have registered to set up business in Chabahar .

He added that 400 out of the 3,000 companies which have registered are from 15 countries.

Addressing the Iran-India Economic Forum, Kordi said that as a new regional actor in the Middle East, Chabahar plays a special role in economic diplomacy of the region.

"The Chabahar agreement, between Iran, Afghanistan and India, is a milestone in the development of relations between the three countries, and will have a special impact on relations among countries in the region," he said.

The official noted that the presence of Indian port operators in Shahid Beheshti port of Chabahar has increased the importance of Chabahar.

"Changes in regional economic arrangement and justification of industrial and logistic activities in Chabahar concurrent with completion of the basic infrastructure has opened up a new chapter in the regional and international role of Chabahar," he added.

Kordi noted, "In the past two years, we have witnessed a dramatic growth in the demand for investment in this area, and the number of the finalized investment contracts in this period is more than the total investment contracts signed over the past 10 years."

He added, "We have been working hard to provide the necessary infrastructures for attracting more investment."

India's Shipping Ministry officially announced in a statement on Monday that the country has taken over the operations of strategic Chabahar port in the Sistan-Baluchestan Province of Iran's southeastern coast, during the Trilateral Agreement meeting in the port on December 24.

The heads of Indian, Iranian and Afghanistan delegations jointly inaugurated the office of the Indian SPV — India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ) at Chabahar.

"The physical take-over of the terminal area, cargo handling equipment and Office building was completed by December 29, 2018," the statement said.

"This step marks the beginning of a long journey. India has written a history with its engagement in Chabahar and is now leading the regional cooperation and joint efforts to support land locked Afghanistan. This is the first time India will be operating a port outside its territories," the Indian government's statement said.

India began interacting with Iran on Chabahar Port around 2003 but a major push was received in the second half of 2014, resulting in the signing of an MoU between the two countries.

The statement added that the challenges facing the contract between Iran and India were resolved through a formal short term contract between the two sides which was signed on May 6, 2018 during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's visit to New Delhi.

Earlier on December 24, 2018, representatives from Iran, India and Afghanistan signed a nine-article memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Chabahar where they convened to hold the first follow-up committee on trilateral agreement of the city's oceanic port.

Deputy Head of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Ali Hassanzadeh announced the news, adding that the next round of the committee will be held in India.

The committee aims to finalize the protocol to harmonize transit, roads, customs and consular matters for making the route attractive and decrease logistic costs.

Reportedly, detailed discussions were held between the three sides on drawing the necessary provisions for the full operation of the agreement. Further details are yet to be disclosed.

Earlier on October 12, senior Iranian and Indian trade officials met in New Delhi to review ways to bolster bilateral relations, especially development of Chabahar port.

During the meeting in the Indian capital, Iran's Deputy Roads and Urban Development Minister and Head of Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Rastad and senior officials from India's Ports and Shipping Ministry explored avenues for bolstering cooperation, in particular the development of Chabahar port.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the development of Chabahar port as well as the schedule and conditions for implementing the main contract.

The Indian company, IPGL, has been tasked with administering and running the terminal of the first phase of 'Beheshti harbor' at Chabahar port as a mere operator.

Supplying the equipment for development of the port by the Indian company was also on the meeting's agenda.

During his two-day stay, Rastad visited Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT Port), a strategic Indian trade hub, and conferred with related officials on boosting ties between the JNPT Port and Chabahar port.

Chabahar is Iran's closest and best access point to the Indian Ocean. In May 2016, Iran and India signed a deal to equip and operate containers and multi-purpose terminals at Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar with the capital investment of $85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of $ 22.95 million on a 10-year lease.

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