Media reports of the state-run Iranian news agency IRNA indicate that Iran has joined the league of carbon fibre producing countries. At the end of August, defense minister Ahmad Vahidi reportedly commissioned the country’s first line, the location of which was not mentioned. Neither were investment nor capacity.

The country has been operating under a UN embargo for the import of carbon fibres and their processing technologies for years, for fear that Iran could use the materials to build more efficient centrifuges for enriching uranium. This made it more difficult for the country to enter the carbon fibre field, Vahidi said, pointing out that the line’s commissioning illustrated how Iran had mastered the process.