Latest news with #Khybar-Shikan
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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.
Telegraph
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Missile fuel from China ‘caused Iran port explosion'
A deadly explosion at Iran's largest port is believed to have been caused by missile fuel ingredients sent by China. At least 40 people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured in the blast in Shahid Rajaei port on Saturday, which the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said was likely triggered by containers of chemicals. The agency did not specify which chemicals they were but it was reported in January that China was to ship sodium perchlorate, a common missile fuel component, to Iran after its supplies ran low following attacks on Israel. In February, a ship called the Golbon was reported to have arrived in Iran from China carrying 1,000 tons of ammonium perchlorate, another substance commonly used to make solid rocket fuel. CNN said the vessel was operated by the Iranian Islamic Republic of Shipping Lines and that Tehran's Sufficiency Jihad Organisation, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, had purchased the chemical. The Maritime Executive, a leading shipping journal, later confirmed the arrival in Iran of the MV Jairan, another ship carrying missile fuel ingredients from China. It reported that Iranian authorities appeared to have taken no measures to hide its movements and that it had left Shanghai with its tracking system switched on. The combined cargos of the MV Jairan and the Golbon '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', the journal wrote. Iran has denied there were any missile fuel ingredients at the port in Bandar Abbas, 1,000km (621 miles) south of Tehran, at the time of the explosion. Brig Gen Reza Talaei-Nik told state media on Sunday: 'There were no imported or exported shipments related to military use or rocket fuel at the site of the incident.' Saturday's explosion came just hours after Iran and the United States met in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. The US and Iran will continue talks next week in Europe. However, Iran remains sceptical about the outcome. 'Some of our differences are very serious,' Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, told Tehran's state television. 'But can we reach an agreement? I am hopeful but very cautious.' While Iran maintains its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned last week that Iran had enough enriched uranium to produce several nuclear warheads. Foreign conspiracy Some Iranian media suggested on Sunday that the blast was a foreign conspiracy. An editorial in Ham-Mihan read: 'It is improbable that the explosion's concurrence with the start of technical talks between Iran and America is coincidental.' Suggesting Israel could have been behind the blast, it noted that Iran has thousands of people with 'sensitive access' that the Jewish state could potentially recruit as saboteurs. However, Israeli security sources told The Telegraph that the incident was simply an echo of the Beirut Port tragedy in 2020, in which over 200 people were killed by a major explosion. Lebanese authorities said the blast was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate fertiliser – commonly used for ammunition and explosives – had been negligently stored for years. Israeli intelligence analyst Ronen Solomon told The Telegraph that video footage analysis of Saturday's blast in Iran was 'very similar to the storage accident we saw at the port of Beirut'. The analysis shows there are 'increasing signs that a chain reaction due to an unsafe discharge caused the ignition and explosion of a shipment of chemicals consistent with sodium perchlorate or ammonium nitrate in units of 25 tons each', he said. Iran has long sourced missile fuel ingredients from its allies. In 2023, Politico Europe revealed Iranian negotiations with Russia and China to purchase ammonium perchlorate, a powerful oxidiser used in solid rocket propellants.
