TEHRAN- Production of crude steel in Iran stood at 20.845 million tons in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21, 2022), according to the data released by Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry.

The ministry’s data indicate that the nine-month crude steel output has fallen two percent as compared to the production in the same period of time in the past year.

After the withdrawal of the United States from Iran’s nuclear deal, the Islamic Republic has faced sanctions in various industries, including steel sector.

The United States has sanctioned entities and individuals associated with Iran’s steel industry.

In January 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added twelve Iranian producers of steel and other metal products to the list of sanctions.

However, at that time, the U.S. experts said that the Islamic Republic of Iran had resisted the so-called U.S. maximum pressure policy for the past three years, and the Trump administration had failed to achieve any of its goals in the face of sanctions against Iran.

Also, those active in Iran’s steel sector believed that sanctions against Iran which were in place for 40 years had nothing to do with the Iranian industry.

The latest report released by the World Steel Association (WSA) shows that Iran’s crude steel output has increased 8.5 percent in the first 11 months of 2022, while the world steel output has fallen 3.7 percent in the said period.

Production of crude steel in Iran reached 27.9 million tons during the mentioned 11 months, as compared to 25.7 million tons in the first 11 months of 2021.

The WSA put the crude steel output by the world’s top 64 producers at about 1.691 billion tons in the mentioned time span.

During the first 11 months of the current year, all of the world’s top 10 steel producers except for Iran and India experienced a decline in their steel output, according to the WSA report.

Iran’s monthly crude steel output stood at 2.9 million tons in November, registering a 3.9 percent rise compared to the figure for the same month in 2021.

The Islamic Republic of Iran maintained its place as the world’s 10th biggest steel producer in the period under review.

The Iranian Steel industry has been constantly developing over the past years against all the pressures and obstacles created by outside forces like the U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus outbreak that has severely affected the performance of the world’s top producers.

The country is expected to climb to seventh place among the world’s top steel producers by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (March 2025).

MA/MA