Page 57 - IRANRptNov19

Iran’s steel companies produce much of their output for local delivery, including to auto manufacturing and machinery production customers.
However, with the recent collapse of the Iranian rial against hard currencies, foreign buyers saw their opportunity and stepped up their purchases before US sanctions snapped back into place in early August.
9.1.12 ​Renewable energy sector news
Iran and Russia have signed a contract to construct a thermal power plant in southern Iranian Hormozgan province, according to Mehr News Agency. ​“Russia is to allocate a loan worth €1.2bn for the construction of 1,400-megawatt Sirik thermal power plant [in Sirik County],” Iran’s Energy Minister, Reza Ardakanian, was quoted as saying during a contract signing ceremony held in Tehran on September 15.
He added that the required construction sites and equipment for commencing the project would be provided within the next two months.
The project’s total cost has been estimated at €1.4bn. The provision of the loan had been sought for two years. Iran is to bear the remainder of the costs. Officials expect the plant to produce enough energy for 150,000 residential buildings.
According to Ardakanian, other projects set to leverage Russian capital include the construction of Inche Boroun-Garmsar railroad, expected to be completed by March 2020.
Russia has engaged in delivering other power installations in Iran including the Bushehr nuclear plant.
The Bushehr-2 expansion of the plant has been on the cards for several years. It was initially touted for completion by 2020. The plant is expected to generate 1,000 MW of electricity for southern parts of Iran.
Tehran and Moscow signed a contract for the expansion of the Bushehr site in 2014, a year after Russia got the first phase up and running, but both sides put Bushehr-2 on the back burner until the nuclear deal was signed in November 2015. Since the US unilaterally walked out of the accord in May 2018, foreign investments made in Iran generally have to take into account the threat of US sanctions.
9.1.13 ​Defence sector news
Iran debuts missile system
Iran has debuted a domestically built long-range missile system. ​Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech in Tehran on August 22 during the unveiling of the mobile air-to-surface Bavar-373 missile system that since Iran’s “enemies don’t accept logic, we cannot respond with logic”.
"When the enemy launches a missile against us, we cannot give a speech and say: 'Mr Rocket, please do not hit our country and our innocent people. Rocket-launching sir, if you can please hit a button and self-destruct the missile in mid-air,'" he added.
Tehran remains defiant in the face of the US “economic war and terrorism” that many observers worry could spiral into a military confrontation.
The country’s leadership is sticking to its position that talks with US President Donald Trump would not even be considered unless Washington drops the sanctions it is using in an attempt at throttling the Iranian economy to force concessions from Tehran on its military capabilities and geopolitical roles in the Middle East. The Bavar-373 system is seen by some military analysts as a rival to the Russian S-300 missile system. Its unveiling occurred on Iran's National Defence Industry Day.
57​ IRAN Country Report​ November 2019 www.intellinews.com