Shafaq News/ Two Iranian cargovessels carrying a key chemical ingredient for missile propellant are scheduledto sail from China to Iran in the coming weeks, according to intelligence fromtwo Western security officials, as reported by the Financial Times.
The ships, Golbon and Jairan, bothflying the Iranian flag, are reportedly set to transport over 1,000 tons ofsodium perchlorate. This chemical is essential for producing ammoniumperchlorate, which is itself a key ingredient in solid missile propellants andis regulated by the Missile Technology Control Regime, a voluntaryinternational body dedicated to preventing nuclear proliferation.
“The sodium perchlorate couldproduce 960 tonnes of ammonium perchlorate, which makes up 70 per cent of thepropellant for solid-fuel missiles. That amount of ammonium perchlorate couldproduce 1,300 tonnes of propellant, enough to fuel 260 mid-range Iranianmissiles such as the Kheibar Shekan or Haj Qassem,” Financial Times quoted theofficials as saying.
The officials further pointed outthat the chemicals are destined for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC). “34 20-ft containers containing the chemical had been loaded on to theGolbon, which departed the Chinese island of Daishan on Tuesday. The Jairan isexpected to depart China with 22 containers in early February. Both ships,which are owned by Iranian entities, were expected to make the three-weekvoyage to Iran without making any port calls,” they added.
“The chemicals were loaded on to theGolbon at Taicang, a port just north of Shanghai, and were destined for BandarAbbas, a port in southern Iran on the Persian Gulf,” they continued.
These transactions could reportedlysubject the involved Chinese entities to US sanctions designed to curb Iran'sweapons programs. Both Iranian ships are already under US sanctions. In 2023,the US sanctioned individuals and entities in China, Hong Kong, and Iran,including Iran’s defense attaché in Beijing, for allegedly aiding in theacquisition of parts and technology for Iran’s ballistic missile program.Similar sanctions were imposed in 2024.
It remains unclear, the Britishnewspaper noted, whether Beijing was aware of the shipments. The ChineseEmbassy in Washington said it was “not familiar” with the situation mentionedin the report and that Beijing was committed to “maintaining peace and stabilityin the Middle East and Gulf region and actively promoting the political anddiplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.”
In turn, the Iranian governmentrefused to comment on the Financial Times report.
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