It plans to boost production of semi-finished steel slabs from 5m to 14m tonnes.

ECONOMIST: CSN v Tata

Tata, which mines all the iron ore and coal it needs, now aims to carry out primary steel production close to its iron-ore deposits, and then ship semi-finished steel for finishing close to foreign consumer markets.

ECONOMIST: Why the Tata-Corus deal makes sense for both parties

The ministers also prohibited the export to Iran of further materials relevant to the Iranian nuclear and ballistic programmes or to industries controlled by the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), including graphite, raw or semi-finished metals such as aluminium and steel, as well as software for integrating industrial processes.

BBC: EU imposes new sanctions on Iran