In this photo taken on May 31, 2012, an Iranian worker cuts a steel roll at the Mobarakeh Steel Complex, southwest of central Iranian city of Isfahan. (AP)

Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat

Owners of Lebanese steel importers have complained that the local market has become inundated with cheap Iranian steel.

They said that the steel was being smuggled in vast amounts from Syria without being subjected to necessary lab tests to ensure that it meets international standards.

A trusted source revealed that Iranian ships transport the steel to Syria’s Latakia port where it is unloaded in trucks and smuggled to Beirut.

In Lebanon, it is sold at less than $150 for the ton, it told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The United States is following up on the issue and has contacted Egyptian authorities to inform them that the Iranian ships are passing through its Suez Canal to reach Latakia.

It urged measures to prevent the smuggling, seeing as Tehran is selling the product for cash and hard currencies.