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Iran temporarily suspend almost all mining agreements with foreign investors, as European and Asian companies are afraid of new sanctions for the Gulf economy, according to Deputy Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade. It plans to implement projects worth less than 100 million USD against potential investments for a total of 50 billion USD that the government is seeking from international mining companies by 2022.

“Fearing that they could be blacklisted right after the sanctions return, the companies with whom we have these deals have stopped almost all agreements and are waiting to see what will happen”, said the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade, Mehdi Karbasian.

The US President Donald Trump has imposed new restrictions on Iran’s economy after the country launched rocket tests earlier this year. The US senators have proposed a law to further tighten sanctions.

Iran has over 5,000 active mines, mostly private, according to a US Geological Survey (USGS). The mining and manufacturing industries with leading sectors steel and cement form 13% of gross domestic product, compared to 16% for crude oil and natural gas, according to the USGS report.

In 2015, while international forces were preparing to ease sanctions in January, Iran attracted the interest of mining companies from Italy and France to Brazil and Australia. The plans were to double steel production by 2025. German, French and Dutch delegations visited Iran to discuss investments in steel and mining.

The blocked projects include the expansion of Hormozgan Steel and Isfahan Steel, which deals have worth of 400 million EUR with foreign partners.