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He added that there was as yet no pricing decision on cars valued at more than IRR450mn.
Iran’s competition council was not involved in the price-setting decision, which was made by other relevant organisations, according to Ismaili’s reported comments.
Sudden price rises are not new to the Iranian car industry, and with each bout of devaluation of the IRR, prices usually ascend by a minimum of 5%.
9.1.3 Transport sector news
Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport City (IKAC) has announced that its second terminal, dubbed “Salaam” (“Peace”), will open in two months, Aviation Iran has reported.
It was originally planned that Salaam Terminal would be the departure point for pilgrims flying to the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia, taking over from Mehrabad Airport in the centre of the capital. However, in recent months local media reports have suggested that most of the airport’s international flights may be operated from the terminal, while renovations and expansion work are undertaken at the main terminal, a facility that is more than 15-years-old.
The Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development has reportedly said that most of the major structural work on the second terminal is complete, with the main task now being to attend to putting final fixtures and fittings in place. Separately, a new passenger airport opened to the west of Tehran earlier this week for domestic flights.
Unfortunately for the management of Payam International Airport in the satellite city of Karaj, its opening coincides with the severe devaluation of the Iranian rial (IRR) which has driven up air ticket prices by around 50% across the board. With the currency having suffered the nosedive amid the pressure generated by renewed US sanctions on Tehran, there has been a marked decline in air passenger volumes.
9.1.4 TMT sector news
Iran is braced for any attempt by the US to disconnect it from the internet amid the worsening diplomatic conflict between the two countries, Tasnim news agency quoted the chief of Iran’s National Passive Defense Organization (NPDO) as saying on October 21.
The often outspoken Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali, who heads the NPDO, an organisation that serves as a subdivision of the Joint Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, said his expert personnel were “ready to deal with any cyber threat, including a possible internet outage”.
The US is presently using a heavy sanctions-led economic attack on Iran in an attempt at forcing Tehran into negotiations on its role in Middle East affairs. Jalali also reportedly warned that US cyberattacks could cause the country to decide to disconnect itself from the internet to prevent Washington from accessing classified online materials in Iran.
The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, National Cyberspace Centre and all mobile phone service and internet operators were also making necessary preparations to guard against any attack on Iran’s internet, he added, saying the US possesses the necessary tools to take down the country’s worldwide web access.
Iran launched its national intranet in 2016 after months of delays due to the sheer scale of the project. Accordingly, it costs less to access sites hosted inside Iran than those accessed through the worldwide web. Both types of
41 IRAN Country Report November 2018 www.intellinews.com