Two Iranian cargo ships, carrying a crucial chemical component for rocket fuel, are set to depart from China for Iran in the coming weeks, according to security sources from two Western countries.
The ships, flying the Iranian flag, the Golbon and the Jairan, will transport over 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, a key ingredient in the production of ammonium perchlorate, a primary component of solid rocket fuel.
Security officials, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that the sodium perchlorate could be used to produce 960 tons of ammonium perchlorate, which accounts for 70% of the propellant for solid-fuel rockets. This amount of ammonium perchlorate could be used to fuel 1,300 tons of propellant, sufficient to refuel 260 Iranian medium-range rockets, such as the Kheibar Shekan or Haj Qasem, the officials added.
The chemicals, reportedly, were destined for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the elite unit of the Iranian military. The two officials said that 34 20-foot containers of the chemicals were loaded onto the Golbon, which departed from the Chinese island of Daishan on Tuesday. The Jairan is expected to set sail from China in early February with 22 containers. Both ships, owned by Iranian companies, are scheduled to complete their three-week journey in Iran without making a port of call.
According to the officials, the chemicals were loaded onto the Golbon in Taicang, a port north of Shanghai, and were intended for Bandar Abbas, a port in southern Iran on the Persian Gulf.
It remains unclear whether Beijing was aware of the shipments. The US and its allies have frequently criticized China for supporting Iran and Russia.
Washington has also criticized China for violating US sanctions by purchasing Iranian oil. Critics of the Biden administration argue that it has not done enough to enforce the sanctions.