IRNA � Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Reza Rahmani said that 62 percent of Middle East steel is produced in Iran.

He made the remarks on Tuesday addressing a meeting to unveil Bardsir steel manufacturing project.

Based on the World Steel Association 2017 statistics, 1,680,000,000 tons of steel have been produced in the world, he said, adding that despite sanctions Iran has produced 22 million tons of steel.

The figure had 22% growth compared with the same period last year, he noted.

The average of the growth was about 6% in the world and Iran had the highest rise among other producers, Rahmani said.

He went on to say that Iran has produced 16,600 million tons of steel during the eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21, 2018).

The figure had 18% growth compared with the same period last year, he reiterated.