TEHRAN- Iran will not stop export of aluminum to its neighboring countries, the secretary general of Aluminum Industries Syndicate of Iran said in an interview conducted by the news portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA).

Abolfazl Rezaei said the U.S. fresh sanctions on Iran which targets the country’s metal sector will not affect Iranian aluminum production and export significantly.

Although the country’s aluminum sector need the government’s support more than any other time, he stressed.

Last week, the United States imposed sanctions on Iran's metals and minerals sectors.

Many analysts believe that the U.S. sanctions on Iran’s metals are not going to have as a great impact on exports as on imports of such commodities.

Iran is still an importer of some metal products including steel sheets, since the country’s production in the down-stream sector does not match the demand in the industry sectors.

Iran has more than enough raw materials to completely supply its domestic needs and the sanctions could in fact push the country’s production and processing units to increase their capacities to process more instead of exporting raw materials. In this way, the need for importing such commodities will no longer pressure the economy. 

MA/MA