Latest news with #DennisWilder
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First Post
28-04-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Iran port explosion caused by Chinese missile fuel: Reports
There are indications that the explosion at the Bandar Abbas port in Iran, which killed dozens and injured dozens, was caused by improper handling of ammonium perchlorate imported from China, a chemical used as a missile fuel. read more In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, a helicopter drops water on the fire after a massive explosion rocked a port near the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (Photo: AP) The massive explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas port was caused by imported missile fuel from China, according to reports. Earlier this year, China had imported ammonium perchlorate from China. The chemical is used a fuel to propel missiles. The sale of ammonium perchlorate to Iran is restricted under US sanctions on the Islamist regime. There are indications that the explosion at the port that killed dozens and injured hundreds was caused by the mishandling of ammonium perchlorate. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD At least 40 people have been killed and 1,200 injured in the explosion, according to Iranian state media. The New York Times and private security company Ambrey reported that the blast was a result of improper storage of ammonium perchlorate at the port. Iran had imported ammonium perchlorate from China this year as a result of the depletion of Iran's stocks after two rounds of aerial battles with Israel. In these battles, Israel had also damaged Iran's missile production capabilities in addition to taking out most of the regime's air defences. Iranian state media have reported that the blast at Bandar Abbas was likely set off by containers of chemicals but did not go into specifics. The media have suggested sabotage. Earlier this year, at least two ships named Golbon and MV Jairan arrived in Iran from China with more than 1,000 tons of ammonium perchlorate at the behest of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of Iran, according to CNN. Shipping Journal Maritime Executive reported that combined cargos of the two ships 'would be sufficient to fuel approximately 250 medium range Khybar-Shikan and Fattah missiles, or shorter range Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles, or their Houthi equivalents'. Earlier in January, when the supply of ammonium perchlorate from China to Iran was first reported, former CIA analyst Dennis Wilder told Financial Times that China has a long history of arming Iran dating back to 1980s when it supplied Silkworm anti-ship missiles during the Iran-Iraq war. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Since the early 1990s, China has assisted the Iranian military extensively with its ballistic missile development programme and has provided expertise, technology, parts, and training. China's motivation for secretly assisting Iran today includes clandestinely helping Iran produce missiles for the Russian war effort [in Ukraine], cementing common cause against perceived US hegemonism . . . and Beijing's purchase annually of large amounts of discounted Iranian crude oil,' said Wilder, who is currently an assistant professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
South China Morning Post
06-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
‘They will never use Signal for anything like this again': Dennis Wilder
Before becoming a senior fellow with Georgetown University's Initiative for US-China Dialogue on Global Issues, Dennis Wilder served in the George Bush Jnr and Barack Obama administrations in a number of national security positions, including as the CIA's deputy assistant director for East Asia and the Pacific from 2015 to 2016. Advertisement In the latest instalment of the Open Questions series, Wilder shares his views on President Donald Trump's cuts to the US federal government's bureaucracy as well as the most sensitive issues determining China-US relations. What are your thoughts on the revelations that classified details about a military strike on Yemen were shared with a journalist on Signal? Would you say it presented a significant risk of a security breach? First of all, in my 36 years of experience in the federal government, in the US government, I have never seen anybody use a commercial communication system to discuss such sensitive topics. Advertisement We spend a lot of money in the US government building secured communications. We have an organisation called the White House Communications Agency, we call it WHCA, and they put in secure communications for all of us. For example, when I held a very high position in government, they made a room in my house where I could discuss these things that was secure and they gave me a communication system.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
China building world's largest military command centre to protect leaders in case of nuclear war
China is building a new military command centre near Beijing that is 10 times the size of the Pentagon, US intelligence officials have said. Satellite images of the base, about 20 miles south-west of the Chinese capital, show a 1,500-acre construction site that experts suggest could house reinforced military bunkers to protect the country's military top brass in the case of a nuclear war. When complete, the facility – nicknamed 'Beijing Military City' – is expected to dwarf the Pentagon, the US defence headquarters, which is known as the world's largest office block. The images, obtained by the Financial Times, suggest major construction of the project began in mid-2024, as the People's Liberation Army gears up for its centenary in 2027. Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has repeatedly warned that he intends to annex Taiwan by then, posing a major threat to the US, which relies on Taipei for its supply of microchips. Dennis Wilder, the former head of China analysis for the CIA, told the outlet that if verified, the new complex signals Beijing's intention to develop its 'advanced nuclear war-fighting capability'. Renny Babiarz, a former imagery analyst at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, said that the images suggested there were about 100 cranes operating across a three-mile site, helping to construct several underground facilities linked by subterranean tunnels. Busy activity at the site stands in stark contrast to most Chinese construction projects, which have ground to a halt amid a property market crisis. Despite building work continuing at pace, there are no official mentions of the site on Chinese websites. There is no visible military presence on the site, but access to the facility is strictly prohibited. Signs outside the facility warn against flying drones or taking photographs, the back of the project is blocked off by a checkpoint and people have been banned from using popular hiking trails nearby, according to the outlet. A former senior US intelligence official said that the new base could act as a secure bunker for Chinese officials seeking protection from a nuclear attack. 'China's main secure command centre is in the Western Hills, north-east of the new facility, and was built decades ago at the height of the Cold War,' the former official said. 'The size, scale and partially buried characteristics of the new facility suggest it will replace the Western Hills complex as the primary wartime command facility. 'Chinese leaders may judge that the new facility will enable greater security against US 'bunker buster' munitions, and even against nuclear weapons.' One China researcher who had viewed the images said that the site had 'all the hallmarks of a sensitive military facility', with its deep underground tunnels and reinforced concrete. 'Nearly 10 times bigger than the Pentagon, it's fitting for Xi Jinping's ambitions to surpass the US,' the researcher told The FT. 'This fortress only serves one purpose, which is to act as a doomsday bunker for China's increasingly sophisticated and capable military.' In recent months, military experts have warned about Beijing rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal, enabling it to respond in kind to Western nuclear threats. Pentagon estimates suggest that Beijing will have 1,500 operable nuclear weapons by 2035, matching the firepower of the United States. In December last year, satellite analysis revealed that China had levelled trees and undergrowth on the tiny island of Changbiao in the eastern China Sea to make way for two 'fast breeder' nuclear reactors. Once operational, the reactors could be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, which can be used in nuclear missiles, experts believe. In December, highlighting the rising threat from China, Adml Sir Tony Radakin, the Chief of the British Defence Staff, warned that the world had entered a 'third nuclear age'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
