magnets need iron

Not necessarily. There are various alloys of non-ferrous metals that have strong magnetic capabilities and can hold a magnetic field (become magnets themselves). AlNiCo (aluminum, nickel and cobalt) magnets and the newer rare earth magnets (samarium cobalt and neodymium) do not use iron at all.

False. Magnetic elements/alloys only need lone electron spins and special symmetries in their atomic lattice. Most of the common ones are ferrous, but definitely not all or a majority of known ferromagnetic materials.