Iran (IMNA) - The World Steel Association (Worldsteel) had claimed that Vietnam overtook Iran for the tenth spot with 6.4 million tonnes produced during the first three months of the year. But Mehdi Mohammadi, head of the Alloy Steel Producers Association, called the report "categorically untrue."
"Iran produced 7.26 million tonnes from late December to late March, which almost exactly matches the first quarter of 2026," Mohammadi said, noting that Iran remains behind Brazil, which produced 8.1 million tonnes.
The achievement comes despite a direct attack on Iran's steel industry launched by Israel and the United States on April 7, targeting Mobarakeh Steel and Khuzestan Steel. The assault caused considerable disruption to key facilities including blast furnaces.
Nader Soleimani, executive chairman of the Iranian Steel Producers Association, acknowledged that certain areas have suffered damage but rejected claims of a complete production halt. "Relying on domestic capabilities and the successful experience of parts localization, there is confidence that the reconstruction of damaged plants will encounter the fewest possible problems," Soleimani said.
Iran currently has the capacity to produce approximately 33 million tonnes of steel annually. However, the capacity utilization rate for steelmaking last year was only 63 percent. Steelmakers say they will be able to raise that rate if energy restrictions are not imposed this year.
In other sectors, including beam and rebar production, plants are operating at full capacity with no serious problems, according to officials.
Expert estimates indicate that even in the most pessimistic scenario, reconstruction and return to production in damaged areas will take nine months at most. At Mobarakeh Steel Complex, despite damage in some sections, other areas such as slab production and rolling sections remain fully active.
The only potential short-term challenge relates to a possible slab shortfall, projected not to exceed 50,000 tonnes per month. Yet Mobarakeh's continued supply on the commodity exchange, including offers of 167,000 to 180,000 tonnes in recent days, suggests relative market stability.
Officials said the only area that might face a shortage is hot-rolled coil production. The Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade has issued import permits to Mobarakeh to compensate for this shortage if needed.
In recent weeks, speculators using the pretext of damage to Mobarakeh's infrastructure have arbitrarily raised prices of related products, including automobiles. Car prices have seen sharp increases over the past two weeks, with sellers justifying hikes by claiming a shortage of steel sheets.
On Thursday, Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Mohammad Atabak stated at a meeting with automakers, parts manufacturers, and car importers that "there is no concern regarding the supply of steel sheets needed for vehicles."
The shadow of war and sanctions may affect production trends, but technical capabilities and domestic manufacturing provide reassurance, officials said. It is expected that with a reduction in tensions, damaged steelmaking plants will quickly return to production.
Iran has proven this ability before. In 2018, former US President Donald Trump sanctioned Iran's steel industries, which became a turning point for localization of industrial parts. At that time, the steel industry's dependence on imported parts consumed approximately $4.5 billion of the country's foreign currency annually.
With sanctions imposed and a ban on parts sales, Iran mobilized knowledge-based companies and domestic manufacturers to localize 26,000 parts needed by the steel industry. The Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade and mining holding company IMIDRO supported the self-sufficiency drive by banning registration of orders for imported localized parts.
Today, currency consumption for supplying steel production line parts has dropped from $140–145 to about $45–50, with fabricated domestic components from furnaces to converters to auxiliary installations all produced inside the country.
Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, total steel production stood at about one million tonnes per year. After the revolution, despite the imposed war and enormous economic difficulties, the country increased steel production by about 400,000 tonnes to reach 1.2 million tonnes annually.
The first five-year steel development plan was subsequently formulated to increase steel production by one million tonnes every year. At the end of the plan, production reached 7.5 million tonnes per year.
The 2025 Vision Plan set a target of producing more than 55 million tonnes of steel annually. Having secured tenth-place global ranking ahead of countries including France and Italy, Iran has held its position through a combination of technical self-reliance and rapid post-attack recovery.
"The attack on Mobarakeh and Khuzestan was meant to break that momentum," an industry official said. "Instead, it has become yet another chapter in a long record of turning external pressure into industrial strength."
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