Major Iranian steel production company; according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the largest steel maker in the Middle East and North Africa and the largest direct reduced iron producer in the world; produces more than 50 percent of Iran's steel in all major markets.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, used as a revenue source for Bonyad Taavon Basij, a foundation linked to the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary group subordinate to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has provided millions of dollars annually to Mehr Eqtesad Iranian Investment Company, the investment firm of Mehr Eqtesad Bank; according to the U.S. Department of State, has exchanged steel with Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), Sapid Shipping Co., and Accenture Building Materials, a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Has manufactured hot- and cold-rolled steel, low-carbon steel sheets, pickled coils, narrow strip coil, tinplate sheet and coil, galvanized coil, and slab.

Subsidiaries include:

• Better Future General Trading Co LLC (UAE)
• Metil Steel (Iran)
• Mobarakeh Steel Engineering (MSE) Co. (Iran)
• Pacific Steel FZE (UAE)
• Tara Steel Trading GmbH (Germany)
• Tuka Metal Trading DMCC (UAE)

Subsidiaries help generate tens of millions of dollars annually in sales, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury; has purchased tens of millions of dollars in spare parts through Tara Steel Trading; between 2018 and 2019, participated in over 100 million dollars' worth of trade in spare parts with Better Future General Trading; has participated in over 1 million dollars' worth of trade with Pacific Steel.

Has an export warehouse in Bandar Abbas, Iran; in 2019, transported steel slabs from Bandar Abbas to Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. in China using the vessel Hong Xun; in 2005, was the intended recipient of an automatic casting machine for special steel, the procurement of which was denied by a member state of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Claims to have exported products to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the UAE, the United Kingdom, and Yemen.

Has been a subsidiary of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO); has been affiliated with the National Iranian Steel Company (NISCO) and with Iran's Ministry of Industries and Mines; in 2011, merged with Hormozgan Steel Company.

Officials include Hamidreza Azimian (chief executive officer); claims to have more than 20,000 employees throughout Iran.

Construction of facilities began in 1981; inaugurated in January 1992; on March 11, 2007, offered shares on the Tehran Stock Exchange.

Sanctions

Designated by the U.S. Department of State on January 15, 2021, imposing certain financial, trade, and/or visa restrictions on the entity pursuant to the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (IFCA), which targets sectors of the Iranian economy that support proliferation and domestic oppression.

Added on October 16, 2018, to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), blocking its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism; also designated pursuant to Executive Order 13871, which targets Iran's iron, steel, aluminum, and copper sectors; also designated pursuant to IFCA; foreign parties facilitating transactions for the entity or otherwise assisting the entity are subject to U.S. sanctions;[44] also subject to the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations; foreign financial institutions facilitating transactions for the entity may be prohibited from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States.

Sanctioned on May 29, 2013, by the government of Canada for involvement in Iran's proliferation activities or affiliation with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), prohibiting (with some exceptions) its access to goods, funds, and related services in Canada.

Listed by the Japanese government in 2020 as an entity of concern for proliferation relating to missiles and biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons.

Designated jointly on October 30, 2019, by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States for terrorist financing activities.

Listed by the British government in 2008 as an entity of potential concern for WMD-related procurement, and has had export licenses both granted and denied by that government; removed in 2017 after the U.K. withdrew its Iran list.