Page 45 - IRANRptAug18

been devoted to foreign tourism,” Betkolia also commented.
Keeping Iranians inside Iran and attracting foreign tourists would appear to be a tall order, with the numbers of foreigners dwindling at historical sites across the country including in Shiraz.
9.1.9 Metallurgy & mining sector news
The output of Iran’s major aluminium producers grew to 91,379 tonnes in the first quarter of the current Persian year (March 21 to June 21), marking 11% y/y growth, Islamic Republic News Agency reported on July 18. The companies reportedly produced 30,432 tonnes of aluminium during the Persian calendar month of Khordad (May-June 21), reaching a growth rate of 13% y/y. The growth rate for the first two months of the assessed quarter was given as 9.7% y/y. Export data on Iranian metal shipments for the three-month period were not yet available, but several companies have reported renewed interest in supplies that has emerged in markets including neighbouring Iraq and Turkey. It appears to have been driven by the severe devaluation of the Iranian rial that has occurred in recent months.
Iran produced 4.8mn tonnes of crude steel in the first quarter of the current Persian year (started March 21), up 17% y/y, Fars News Agency reported on July 17. The country continued to show a strong industrial performance prior to the general decline in economic indicators across the board since US President Donald Trump in early May announced he would re-impose unilateral sanctions on Iran and attempt to squeeze the Iranian economy so hard that Tehran would be forced to renegotiate the nuclear deal. Total finished steel production volume in the first three months of the Iranian year totalled 2.8mn tonnes. Of the total, more than 1.7mn tonnes was produced by Esfahan’s Mobarakeh Steel Company (EMSCO) and SABA Steel Complex. In addition, 568,284 tonnes of finished steel was produced by Esfahan Steel Company, which marked 8% y/y growth.
According to the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), more than 21.8mn tonnes of crude steel was produced in the previous Persian year.
IMIDRO said Iran presently ranked in 13th place for steel production among the 65 leading steel manufacturers around the world. Early last year, European steel lobby group Eurofer stepped up its complaints that Iranian steel exports were becoming a threat to European producers.
9.1.10 Renewable energy sector news
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran head Ali Akbar Salehi said on July 18 that the country has built a plant that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day. The announcement can be seen as an upping of the stakes in Tehran’s confrontation with Washington over Iran’s nuclear development work, which the Iranians may choose to restart in earnest if the economic warfare being waged on Iran by the US starts to take too heavy a toll. A month ago Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had instructed agencies to prepare to increase uranium enrichment capacity if the multilateral nuclear deal unravelled.
With the US now seeking to bring to bear heavier sanctions than ever before, Iran is waiting to see what the EU powers, along with the Chinese, Russians, Indians, Japanese and other parties can offer it under the preserved nuclear deal operating without American participation. The remaining nuclear deal
45 IRAN Country Report August 2018 www.intellinews.com