UK’s Business Secretary Sajid Javid has postponed a major trade visit to Iran to focus on the future of the country’s steel industry, a spokesman from the business department said on Tuesday.

"Given the Business Secretary's focus on the steel industry, he has decided to postpone his trip to Iran," Reuters has quoted the unnamed the spokesman as saying. "He remains committed to exploring the opportunities for trade and investment with this emerging market and an alternative date will be arranged in due course."

The trip, the spokesman added, would take place at a later date.

The announcement came after India's Tata group announced plans to sell its entire UK steel operation in March.

The move has already left the government battling to save an industry that has been hurt by cheap Chinese imports, soaring costs and weak demand, Reuters reported.

Javid has faced heavy criticism over his handling of the Tata sale, which was announced while he was on an official visit to Australia, forcing him to rush back to Britain to reassure the company's thousands of employees.

He had planned to travel to Tehran this month on what would have been the biggest British trade delegation to Iran since the lifting of international sanctions in January.

The trade mission that he was expected to take to Tehran was planned to include executives from across the oil and gas, financial services, infrastructure and engineering sectors, said the report.

Other European Union countries including Italy, France and Germany have already struck billions of dollars worth of deals and many within Britain's business community complain that the UK has been slower to respond, Reuters added.

By Press TV