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France 24
07-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
What an explosion in an Iranian port reveals about the importation of Chinese weapons
It began with a plume of yellow smoke rising from a container at the Iranian port of Shahid Rajee near the town of Bandar Abbas on April 26. A few seconds later, an explosion rang out. Photos of the aftermath of the explosion show the force of the blast. A massive crater was formed and a large part of the port was charred and blackened. Nearby containers were swept aside by the force of the explosion. Cause remains unclear The evening of the explosion, a source with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told the New York Times that what exploded was sodium perchlorate, a component in missile propellant, which was present in a container. The Financial Times reported in January that China had been shipping this chemical to Iran. 'The fire was reportedly the result of improper handling of a shipment of solid fuel intended for use in Iranian ballistic missiles,' Ambrey, a company specialised in maritime security, told the Associated Press. Another expert told CNN that he also supported the sodium perchlorate theory. However, our team spoke to an Iranian expert in mineral chemistry, who requested anonymity, who disagreed with this theory and saying that it was 'unlikely' that the explosion was caused by sodium perchlorate. Other sources within Iran's leadership remained vague about the causes of the explosion. The president of the Commission on National Security and Foreign Policy at the Iranian parliament told Iranian media outlet Kahabaronline that the 'contents of the containers were for use in the agricultural and medical sectors'. Customs authorities told Iranian media outlets that the 'imported cargo that exploded and caught fire at the Shahid Rajaee port on Saturday (April 26) doesn't have any container numbers or any declaration indicating that it was declared to customs'. It is thus difficult to establish the explosion's causes with certainty. However, this tragedy does highlight another phenomenon: the role of Iranian shipping in the flow of arms from China. Iranian cargo, under American sanctions, departing from China It's not the first time that a mysterious shipment of sodium perchlorate has been reported. In January 2025, the Financial Times cited two Western intelligence sources who said that two Iranian ships, the Golbon and the Jairan, were thought to be transporting this substance from China to Iran. These two container ships flying the Iranian flag are subject to sanctions from the US State Department and the European Union. They both belong to a maritime shipping company called the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, which the US Treasury was the "preferred shipping line for Iranian [Editor's note: nuclear] proliferators and procurement agents". 'Officially, the company has 140 ships,' David Soud, an expert in maritime security and a fellow at the Atlantic Council, said. 'But that doesn't mean that they don't have more unofficially, using various tax schemes.' Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines is directly linked to the Self Sufficiency Jihad Organisation. The US State Department says the 'IRGC Aerospace Force Self Sufficiency Jihad Organisation (ASF SSJO) is involved in Iranian ballistic missile research and flight test launches'. Farzin Nadimi, a specialist in Iranian arms proliferation at the Washington Institute, says that the Self Sufficiency Jihad Organisation plays a key role in Iranian armament: This organisation, which reports to the Revolutionary Guards, is responsible for designing Iranian missile programmes. It essentially carries out reverse engineering: it copies the Chinese technology and launches domestic production of these models. China has been supplying Iran with missiles since the 1980s. The Fateh missiles, which were recently used to strike Israel, are based on Chinese models. Iran also depends on China to produce fuel for the missiles. The Revolutionary Guards haven't started domestic fuel production even though they are technologically capable because the price is too high. So Iran continues to import the substances necessary for producing fuel from China. 'The ship artificially modified its GPS signal when it was at the port where the explosion took place' We were able to track the trajectory of the Golbon, one of the ships. It departed Shahid Rajaee and arrived in Chinese waters in early November 2024. According to navigation data available on the site Global Fishing Watch, the Golbon stayed more than a month in a zone between the Chinese cities of Zhoushan and Taicang. During this time, it carried out a suspicious movement that might possibly indicate spoofing, which is when a ship emits a false signal to hide its real location. Between November 13–23, 2024, while the boat was near Taicang port, Global Fishing Watch picked up the boat's signal indicating a strange, circular trajectory. The cargo ship's signal disappeared entirely between November 24–25, 2024. Soud says that the strange, nearly stationary trajectory emitted by the boat is suspicious and indicates that the boat may have been projecting a fake signal in order to hide its position: It's strange that the cargo ship decided to halt its signal once it was in port. It is possible that the Golbon was anchored near Taicang port between November 13 and 23 while waiting for a place to open up so it could moor at the port itself. However, the trajectory seems a little too geometric for an anchorage. If it is an artificial simulation of its trajectory, then it is possible that it was exchanging merchandise with another ship during this time. But it is impossible to confirm if the ship really was emitting a false signal. If ships transfer cargo in the middle of the ocean, then it is often an indication that they are trying to get around sanctions. In general, transactions that take place between ships placed next to one another are a way to prevent merchandise from being traced. But in this specific case, that would surprise me. Ship-to-ship transfers can be risky. It would be a huge risk for the Iranians to carry out that kind of manoeuvre with an explosive product like sodium perchlorate. Moreover, the boat's trajectory could just indicate a simple anchoring. After a four-day stay in the Chinese port of Zuhai, the Golbon then started making its way back to Iran. On February 12, a Maxar satellite photographed it while it was near the Iranian port of Chabahar. After that, the ship docked in Shahid Rajaee for nine days. After Shahid Rajee, the Golbon spent nine days docked at the Emirati Fujairah port before heading to India, where it stopped at Kandla and then Mumbai between February 26 and March 4, 2025. How the cargo ship cut its signal and disappeared It was once the ship headed back to Iran that the ship's trajectory became confusing. On March 13, 2025, when the Golbon was anchored off Chabahar, it suddenly cut its signal. It then reappeared on March 16 farther to the west. In the image below, you can see the trajectory, in orange, and the period when it stopped emitting. Once the ship arrived at Shahid Rajee port, where the explosion took place on April 26, the ship's signal seems to have been garbled on purpose. On March 27, for example, the signal indicated that the ship was on dry land. When a boat's signal indicates that it is on dry land and that its trajectory includes straight lines and angles, then it is a clue that the signal has been modified to hide the ship's activity. It is possible to buy devices that artificially modify the ship's trajectory. Iranian oil tankers use this technique to get around sanctions. In the specific case of Golborn's stopover at Shahid Rajee port, it is unclear why the crew used this technique. We know that the cargo ship was in this port because the sailors didn't jam the signal when the ship was arriving there. There are several hypotheses. The first is that the authorities didn't want foreign analysts who were following the cargo ship's movements to know the exact location where it unloaded its cargo. The second is that the break in signal was due to a human error or perhaps a change in personnel on the boat. The new team might have suddenly wanted to take stricter security precautions. It is impossible to draw a clear conclusion. Nevertheless, satellite images show that the Golbon was unloading at Shahid Rajee port on March 27, even though it appeared to be trying to obscure its position at the port. For Nadimi, the Golbon's trajectory is reminiscent of the methods used by the Revolutionary Guards to import weapons. 'They hide the cargo in the flow of civilian merchandise,' he says. 'Just like with contraband oil, they jam the boat's signals.'
Voice of America
14-03-2025
- Business
- Voice of America
Exclusive: Second Iranian ship suspected of carrying missile ingredient leaves China
A second Iranian ship that Western news reports have named as part of a scheme to import a missile propellant ingredient from China is heading to Iran with a major cargo load, an exclusive VOA analysis has found. Ship-tracking websites show the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Jairan departed China on Monday, a month later than the expected departure cited by one of the news reports. The Jairan was named in January and February articles by The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and CNN as one of two Iranian cargo ships Tehran is using to import 1,000 metric tons of sodium perchlorate from China. The three news outlets cited unnamed Western intelligence sources as saying the purported shipment could be transformed into enough ammonium perchlorate — a key solid fuel propellant component — to produce 260 midrange Iranian missiles. The other Iranian cargo ship named in the news reports, the Golbon, completed a 19-day journey from eastern China to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Feb. 13. During the trip, it made a two-day stop at southern China's Zhuhai Gaolan port and delivered an unknown cargo to Iran, according to ship-tracking website MarineTraffic. Both the Golbon and the Jairan are sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department as vessels operated by the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, which itself is sanctioned for being what the State Department has called "the preferred shipping line for Iranian proliferators and procurement agents." As the Golbon sailed from China to Iran in late January and early February, the Jairan's automatic identification system transponder — a device that transmits positional and other data as part of an internationally mandated tracking system — reported the vessel as being docked at eastern China's Liuheng Island. In a joint review of the Jairan's AIS data on MarineTraffic and fellow ship-tracking website Seasearcher, VOA and Dubai-based intelligence analyst Martin Kelly of EOS Risk Group determined that the Jairan reported no significant draught change while docked at Liuheng Island through February and into early March. That meant the Iranian vessel was sitting at the almost same depth in the water as when it arrived in eastern China late last year, indicating it had not been loaded with any major cargo since then. The Jairan remained at Liuheng Island until March 3, when it headed south toward Zhuhai Gaolan and docked at the port on March 8. Two days later, the Jairan departed, reporting its destination as Bandar Abbas with an expected arrival of March 26. The Iranian ship also reported a significant draught change upon leaving Zhuhai Gaolan, transmitting data showing it was sitting more than 2 meters deeper in the water and indicating it had taken on a major cargo at the port, Kelly told VOA. As of Friday, local time, the Jairan was in the waters of Indonesia's Riau Archipelago, heading southwest toward the Singapore Strait. The U.S. State Department had no comment on the Jairan's departure from China when contacted by VOA. Iran's U.N. mission in New York did not respond to a similar VOA request for comment, emailed on Tuesday. Last month, the State Department told VOA it was aware of the January news reports by The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal regarding Iran's purported use of the Golbon and Jairan to import sodium perchlorate from China. A spokesperson said the State Department does not comment on intelligence matters but "remains focused on preventing the proliferation of items, equipment, and technology that could benefit Iran's missile or other weapons programs and continues to hold Iran accountable through sanctions." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to the news reports in a Jan. 23 press briefing, asserting that China abides by its own export controls and international obligations and rejects other countries' imposition of what Beijing considers illegal unilateral sanctions. In the past month, Chinese state media have made no reference to the Jairan, while China's social media platforms also have had no observable discussion about the Iranian ship, according to a review by VOA's Mandarin Service. In its Jan. 22 report, The Financial Times cited "security officials in two Western countries" as saying the Jairan would depart China in early February, but it did not leave until March 10. Gregory Brew, a senior Iran analyst at the Eurasia Group, a New York-based political risk consultancy, said Iran may also have wanted to see if the Golbon could complete its voyage from China without being interdicted before sending the Jairan to follow it. "Ships carrying highly sensitive materials related to Iran's missile industry, which is under U.S. sanctions, are at risk of interception, and the Iranians likely are conscious of that," Brew said. Eight Republican U.S. senators led by Jim Risch and Pete Ricketts sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the purported Iran-China chemical scheme dated Feb. 4, urging him to work with global partners of the U.S. "to intercept and stop the shipments currently underway" if the press reports proved accurate. There was no sign of the Golbon being intercepted on its recent China to Iran voyage. Responding to VOA's query about the letter, a U.S. State Department press officer said: "We do not comment on Congressional correspondence." Ricketts' office also did not respond to a VOA inquiry about whether Rubio has responded to the senators' letter. VOA's Mandarin Service contributed to this report.
Asharq Al-Awsat
15-02-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran Receives Chemical Key from China for its Missile Program
Iran resumed its missile production after it received a chemical shipment from China carrying the main precursor in the production of the solid propellant that powers Tehran's mid-range conventional missiles, a US report showed. CNN reported Thursday that ship tracking data shows the first of two vessels carrying 1,000 tons of a Chinese-made chemical that could be a key component in fuel for Iran's military missile program has anchored outside the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. 'It could be a signal that Iran's missile production is back to business as usual after the devastating, and embarrassing, attacks by Israel on key factories last year,' CNN said. The ship, Golbon, left the Chinese port of Taicang three weeks ago loaded with most of a 1,000-ton shipment of sodium perchlorate, the main precursor in the production of the solid propellant that powers Iran's mid-range conventional missiles, according to two European intelligence sources. The sodium perchlorate could allow for the production of sufficient propellant for some 260 solid rocket motors for Iran's Kheibar Shekan missiles or 200 of the Haj Qasem ballistic missiles, according to the intelligence sources. The shipment comes as Iran has suffered a series of regional setbacks and while US President Donald Trump announced steps to increase pressure on Iran over its advancing nuclear program. Following Israel's strike on Iran's missile production facilities in October, some Western experts believed it could take at least a year before Iran could resume solid-propellant production. According to CNN, this delivery points to Iran being not far from – or that they could already be back to – the production of its missiles. The shipment was purchased on behalf of the Procurement Department of the Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization (SSJO), part of the Iranian body responsible for the development of Iran's ballistic missiles, according to the sources. The second ship, Jairan, has yet to be loaded and leave China, with both vessels operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) company, the sources told CNN. The Jairan is due to ferry the remainder of the 1,000 tons to Iran. The Golbon left the Taicang port for Iran on January 21. The delivery of sodium perchlorate in itself is not illegal, nor does it breach Western sanctions. In a response to a request for comment from CNN, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said China has consistently abided by export controls on dual-use items in accordance with its international obligations and domestic laws and regulations. Both the Golbon and Jairan are under US sanctions. The United States and United Kingdom have levied sanctions against IRISL company, with the State Department saying the firm is the 'preferred shipping line for Iranian proliferators and procurement agents.' The UK treasury said the company was 'involved in hostile activity' by Iran and highlighted its links to the Iranian defense sector. Meanwhile, China has remained a diplomatic and economic ally for sanctions-hit Iran, decrying 'unilateral' US sanctions against the country and welcoming Tehran into Beijing- and Moscow-led international blocs like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS. The US has in recent years, however, sanctioned a number of Chinese entities for alleged roles supporting Iranian military drone production. A key ingredient While Iran would need solid propellant for a range of missiles, including smaller air defense weapons, the lion's share of such deliveries would likely be headed towards Iran's ballistic missile program, Fabian Hinz, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told CNN. Although sodium perchlorate trade is not restricted by Western sanctions, it can be chemically transformed into ammonium perchlorate - a fuel and oxidizer which is a controlled product. 'Ammonium perchlorate is the material that was used in the solid rocket propellants of the Space Shuttle,' Andrea Sella, professor of inorganic chemistry at University College London, told CNN. Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, told CNN that China has long been 'a primary source of sodium perchlorate for Iran's missile programs, dating at least to the mid-2000s.' 'This is just the latest shipment in a decades-old pattern,' Lewis added. Supply troubles Defense analyst Hinz said that while Iran has previously boasted of its ability to produce ammonium perchlorate itself, this delivery hints at supply chain bottlenecks as domestic precursor supply has been unable to meet missile production needs. It's a problem even countries like the US can face, he added. Hinz said that Iran's solid propellant production infrastructure has 'dramatically expanded in the last few years - and potentially even since October 7, (2023),' with new sites built and existing ones enlarged. Solid propellant is also used in Iran's short-range missiles – like those used in the past against US bases in the region and in exports to Russia, Hinz said. Iran's largest and most powerful ballistic missiles typically use liquid propellant. According to the Israeli Army, wreckage from at least one Kheibar Shakan missile was recovered following Iran's October 1, 2024 barrage against Israel. Analysis from one of the Western sources confirmed that some 50 medium-range missiles with solid propulsion were fired at Israel by Iran in this attack. A western intelligence official told CNN that, although relevant US government agencies are aware of the delivery, there is limited concern over the shipment. If Iran does funnel the chemicals towards missile fuel production, especially on weapons destined for Russia, that will be of greater concern, the source said.
Egypt Independent
15-02-2025
- Business
- Egypt Independent
Iran is rearming its missile program and a ship of supplies just arrived from China, Western sources say
CNN — The first of two vessels carrying 1,000 tons of a Chinese-made chemical that could be a key component in fuel for Iran's military missile program has anchored outside the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Thursday, ship tracking data shows. It could be a signal that Iran's missile production is back to business as usual after the devastating, and embarrassing, attacks by Israel on key factories last year. The ship, Golbon, left the Chinese port of Taicang three weeks ago loaded with most of a 1,000-ton shipment of sodium perchlorate, the main precursor in the production of the solid propellant that powers Iran's mid-range conventional missiles, according to two European intelligence sources. The sodium perchlorate could allow for the production of sufficient propellant for some 260 solid rocket motors for Iran's Kheibar Shekan missiles or 200 of the Haj Qasem ballistic missiles, according to the intelligence sources. The shipment comes as Iran has suffered a series of regional setbacks with the collective defeat suffered by its allies: the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Hezbollah's losses in Lebanon. Following Israel's strike on Iran's missile production facilities in October, some Western experts believed it could take at least a year before Iran could resume solid-propellant production. This delivery points to Iran being not far from – or that they could already be back to – the production of its missiles. Iranian demonstrators march next to a domestically built missile during a rally commemorating the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran earlier this week. Vahid Salemi/AP The shipment was purchased on behalf of the Procurement Department of the Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization (SSJO), part of the Iranian body responsible for the development of Iran's ballistic missiles, according to the sources. The second ship, Jairan, has yet to be loaded and leave China, with both vessels operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) company, the sources told CNN. The Jairan is due to ferry the remainder of the 1,000 tons to Iran. The Golbon left the Taicang port for Iran on January 21. CNN has reached out to IRISL for comment. The sources could not say if the Chinese government knew of the shipments prior to media reporting about their movement late January. The delivery of sodium perchlorate in itself is not illegal, nor does it breach Western sanctions. In a response to a request for comment from CNN, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was 'not aware of the specifics of the case' mentioned and reiterated that it opposed 'illegal unilateral sanctions' and 'arbitrary smearing and accusations that lack evidence.' 'China has consistently abided by export controls on dual-use items in accordance with its international obligations and domestic laws and regulations,' the statement said, adding that 'sodium perchlorate is not a controlled item by China, and its export would be considered normal trade.' Sanctions backdoor The United States and United Kingdom have levied sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines company, with the State Department saying the firm is the 'preferred shipping line for Iranian proliferators and procurement agents.' The UK treasury said the company was 'involved in hostile activity' by Iran and highlighted its links to the Iranian defense sector. Both the Golbon and Jairan are under US sanctions. Meanwhile, China has remained a diplomatic and economic ally for sanctions-hit Iran, decrying 'unilateral' US sanctions against the country and welcoming Tehran into Beijing- and Moscow-led international blocs like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS. Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles on October 1, 2024. Amir Cohen/Reuters China also remains by far Iran's largest energy buyer, though it has not reported purchases of Iranian oil in its official customs data since 2022, according to analysts. Despite China's historic ties to Iran's defense sector, observers say Beijing has scaled back security ties over the past decade as it seeks to bolster relations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. The US has in recent years, however, sanctioned a number of Chinese entities for alleged roles supporting Iranian military drone production. Recent joint naval drills between China, Iran and Russia have also signaled a potential deepening of government-to-government strategic ties. A key ingredient While Iran would need solid propellant for a range of missiles, including smaller air defense weapons, the lion's share of such deliveries would likely be headed towards Iran's ballistic missile program, Fabian Hinz, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told CNN. Although sodium perchlorate trade is not restricted by Western sanctions, it can be chemically transformed into ammonium perchlorate – a fuel and oxidizer which is a controlled product. 'Ammonium perchlorate is the material that was used in the solid rocket propellants of the Space Shuttle,' Andrea Sella, professor of inorganic chemistry at University College London, told CNN. 'There really aren't very many alternative things' that the chemical in the Chinese deliveries can be used for, aside from for rocket propellants, fireworks and fuel, he said, adding: 'Perchlorates have a fairly narrow range of uses.' Increasing controls on perchlorates in the West have seen China become a major alternative supplier of such chemicals, he said. China has long been 'a primary source of sodium perchlorate for Iran's missile programs, dating at least to the mid-2000s,' Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, told CNN. 'This is just the latest shipment in a decades-old pattern,' Lewis added. Supply troubles Defense analyst Hinz said that while Iran has previously boasted of its ability to produce ammonium perchlorate itself, this delivery hints at supply chain bottlenecks as domestic precursor supply has been unable to meet missile production needs. It's a problem even countries like the US can face, he added. Hinz said that Iran's solid propellant production infrastructure has 'dramatically expanded in the last few years – and potentially even since October 7, (2023),' with new sites built and existing ones enlarged. Kheibar Shekan missiles have a range of 880 miles (around 1,420 km), with their Haj Qasem cousins able to reach targets 900 miles (around 1,450 km) away, according to the Western intelligence source. Although not the most technically advanced weapons in Iran's arsenal, their range does make them valuable for attacks on Israel. Hinz said that variants of such missiles have been used by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen against Israel, despite the distance ostensibly outstripping the missiles' standard range. Modifications of the warhead mass or secondary propulsion units could lengthen their reach, he said. Solid propellant is also used in Iran's short-range missiles – like those used in the past against US bases in the region and in exports to Russia, Hinz said. Iran's largest and most powerful ballistic missiles typically use liquid propellant. Missiles are seen during a joint exercise called the 'Great Prophet 17,' in Iran's southwest in 2021. Saeed Sajjadi/Fars News/WANA/Reuters According to the Israel Defense Forces, wreckage from at least one Kheibar Shakan missile was recovered following Iran's October 1, 2024 barrage against Israel. Analysis from one of the Western sources confirmed that some 50 medium-range missiles with solid propulsion were fired at Israel by Iran in this attack. Iran's arsenal is believed to hold 'over 3,000 ballistic missiles,' US Air Force Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told Congress in 2023 – but exact numbers of each type of missile are unknown. A western intelligence official told CNN that, although relevant US government agencies are aware of the delivery, there is limited concern over the shipment. If Iran does funnel the chemicals towards missile fuel production, especially on weapons destined for Russia, that will be of greater concern, the source said. The Iranian government declined to comment in response to questions posed by CNN for this article.
Saudi Gazette
14-02-2025
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
Iran is rearming its missile program, Western sources say
HONG KONG — The first of two vessels carrying 1,000 tons of a Chinese-made chemical that could be a key component in fuel for Iran's military missile program has anchored outside the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Thursday, ship tracking data shows. It could be a signal that Iran's missile production is back to business as usual after the devastating, and embarrassing, attacks by Israel on key factories last ship, Golbon, left the Chinese port of Taicang three weeks ago loaded with most of a 1,000-ton shipment of sodium perchlorate, the main precursor in the production of the solid propellant that powers Iran's mid-range conventional missiles, according to two European intelligence sodium perchlorate could allow for the production of sufficient propellant for some 260 solid rocket motors for Iran's Kheibar Shekan missiles or 200 of the Haj Qasem ballistic missiles, according to the intelligence shipment comes as Iran has suffered a series of regional setbacks with the collective defeat suffered by its allies: the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Hezbollah's losses in Lebanon. Following Israel's strike on Iran's missile production facilities in October, some Western experts believed it could take at least a year before Iran could resume solid-propellant production. This delivery points to Iran being not far from – or that they could already be back to – the production of its shipment was purchased on behalf of the Procurement Department of the Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization (SSJO), part of the Iranian body responsible for the development of Iran's ballistic missiles, according to the second ship, Jairan, has yet to be loaded and leave China, with both vessels operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) company, the sources told CNN. The Jairan is due to ferry the remainder of the 1,000 tons to Iran. The Golbon left the Taicang port for Iran on January has reached out to IRISL for sources could not say if the Chinese government knew of the shipments prior to media reporting about their movement late January. The delivery of sodium perchlorate in itself is not illegal, nor does it breach Western a response to a request for comment from CNN, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was 'not aware of the specifics of the case' mentioned and reiterated that it opposed 'illegal unilateral sanctions' and 'arbitrary smearing and accusations that lack evidence.''China has consistently abided by export controls on dual-use items in accordance with its international obligations and domestic laws and regulations,' the statement said, adding that 'sodium perchlorate is not a controlled item by China, and its export would be considered normal trade.'The United States and the United Kingdom have levied sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines company, with the State Department saying the firm is the 'preferred shipping line for Iranian proliferators and procurement agents.'The UK treasury said the company was 'involved in hostile activity' by Iran and highlighted its links to the Iranian defense the Golbon and Jairan are under US China has remained a diplomatic and economic ally for sanctions-hit Iran, decrying 'unilateral' US sanctions against the country and welcoming Tehran into Beijing- and Moscow-led international blocs like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and also remains by far Iran's largest energy buyer, though it has not reported purchases of Iranian oil in its official customs data since 2022, according to China's historic ties to Iran's defense sector, observers say Beijing has scaled back security ties over the past decade as it seeks to bolster relations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. The US has in recent years, however, sanctioned a number of Chinese entities for alleged roles supporting Iranian military drone production. Recent joint naval drills between China, Iran and Russia have also signaled a potential deepening of government-to-government strategic Iran would need solid propellant for a range of missiles, including smaller air defense weapons, the lion's share of such deliveries would likely be headed towards Iran's ballistic missile program, Fabian Hinz, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told sodium perchlorate trade is not restricted by Western sanctions, it can be chemically transformed into ammonium perchlorate - a fuel and oxidizer that is a controlled product.'Ammonium perchlorate is the material that was used in the solid rocket propellants of the Space Shuttle,' Andrea Sella, professor of inorganic chemistry at University College London, told CNN.'There really aren't very many alternative things' that the chemical in the Chinese deliveries can be used for, aside from for rocket propellants, fireworks and fuel, he said, adding: 'Perchlorates have a fairly narrow range of uses.'Increasing controls on perchlorates in the West have seen China become a major alternative supplier of such chemicals, he has long been 'a primary source of sodium perchlorate for Iran's missile programs, dating at least to the mid-2000s,' Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, told CNN.'This is just the latest shipment in a decades-old pattern,' Lewis analyst Hinz said that while Iran has previously boasted of its ability to produce ammonium perchlorate itself, this delivery hints at supply chain bottlenecks as domestic precursor supply has been unable to meet missile production needs. It's a problem even countries like the US can face, he said that Iran's solid propellant production infrastructure has 'dramatically expanded in the last few years - and potentially even since October 7, (2023),' with new sites built and existing ones Shekan missiles have a range of 880 miles (around 1,420 km), with their Haj Qasem cousins able to reach targets 900 miles (around 1,450 km) away, according to the Western intelligence source. Although not the most technically advanced weapons in Iran's arsenal, their range does make them valuable for attacks on said that variants of such missiles have been used by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen against Israel, despite the distance ostensibly outstripping the missiles' standard range. Modifications of the warhead mass or secondary propulsion units could lengthen their reach, he propellant is also used in Iran's short-range missiles – like those used in the past against US bases in the region and in exports to Russia, Hinz said. Iran's largest and most powerful ballistic missiles typically use liquid to the Israel Defense Forces, wreckage from at least one Kheibar Shakan missile was recovered following Iran's October 1, 2024 barrage against Israel. Analysis from one of the Western sources confirmed that some 50 medium-range missiles with solid propulsion were fired at Israel by Iran in this arsenal is believed to hold 'over 3,000 ballistic missiles,' US Air Force Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told Congress in 2023 - but exact numbers of each type of missile are unknown.A Western intelligence official told CNN that, although relevant US government agencies are aware of the delivery, there is limited concern over the shipment. If Iran does funnel the chemicals towards missile fuel production, especially on weapons destined for Russia, that will be of greater concern, the source said. The Iranian government declined to comment in response to questions posed by CNN for this article. — CNN
