"This contract and other upcoming contracts show that we are working under the sanctions. The sanctions have not stopped us and we are active," Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said at the signing ceremony.

Axar.az reports citing TRT World that Iran signed a $440 million contract on Saturday with local company Petropars to develop the Belal gas field in the Gulf, Iranian state television reported, saying the country's vital energy sector was active despite US sanctions.

"This contract and other upcoming contracts show that we are working under the sanctions. The sanctions have not stopped us and we are active," Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said at the signing ceremony.

Under the deal signed with a subsidiary of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Petropars is to produce 500 million cubic feet per day of gas.

Belal, a field shared with Qatar, straddles the maritime boundary between Iran and Qatar in the Gulf.