Crime & Justice
Tehran imports missile propellent ingredients from China, amid warnings
Chinese missile propellent ingredients could help the Iranian regime produce hundreds of mid-range missiles to further destabilize the region.
![An Iran-made Haj Qassem missile, named after the late IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, is exhibited during a February 10 rally in Tehran. [Hossein Beris/Middle East Images via AFP]](/gc3/images/2025/03/31/49809-iran-qassem-missile-370_237.webp)
By Fariba Raad |
Reports that two sanctioned Iranian cargo vessels are delivering missile propellent ingredients from China to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas have prompted some US lawmakers to call for sanctions on the Chinese entities.
In a February 4 letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, eight US senators called for action to identify and sanction "any Chinese companies sourcing the propellants and any Chinese ports that allow sanctioned Iranian ships to dock."
Tehran imported 1,000 metric tons of sodium perchlorate, per the Financial Times, which when converted to ammonium perchlorate, could produce propellant for 260 Kheibar Shekan or 200 Haj Qassem mid-range missiles.
The chemical also could fuel Palestine-2 ballistic missiles -- the type the Iran-backed Houthis used in January to strike a power plant in the Israeli port of Haifa, according to the Army Recognition Group.
The two Iranian vessels have been identified as Jairan and Golbon, both of which are under US sanctions for ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.
Jairan arrived at Bandar Abbas on March 28, following Golbon, which docked February 13, per MarineTraffic data.
The shipments were destined for the Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unit responsible for developing ballistic missile capacity, according to Iran Watch.
Urgent need for missile fuel
The deliveries come as the Iranian regime races to restore weapons capabilities after depleting its arsenal in attacks on Israel last year.
In April, the Iranian regime fired an estimated 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles toward Israel, according to the Israeli military.
Most were intercepted, with help from US and allied forces, with Israeli retaliation targeting facilities that make the solid propellant for missiles in Shahroud, Parchin and Khojir, according to AFP.
While Tehran has domestic capability to produce missile fuel chemicals, the strikes created an urgent need for external supplies, Foundation for Defense of Democracies researcher Behnam Ben Taleblu told Voice of America.
The Iranian regime likely turned to China as its most reliable partner for acquiring these critical materials, he said.
In their letter to Rubio, the US senators said that reimposing a maximum pressure campaign on the Iranian regime requires imposing costs on China.
"Since the early 1990s, China has assisted the Iranian military extensively with its ballistic missile development program," Georgetown University professor Dennis Wilder told the Financial Times January 22.
China has provided "expertise, technology, parts and training," he said.
Chinese nationals have supported IRGC armaments production "by illicitly procuring and delivering US export-controlled dual-use technology to Iran via front companies," Middle East Institute senior fellow John Calabrese told Pishtaz.
I will sacrifice my life for an Iran free from the Islamic Republic (Free Iran).
Considering that powerful countries are aware of our beloved country's military capabilities and knowledge, they are currently in a deep sleep, thinking that perhaps their masters will do something or move to save them from this swamp that they themselves dug like the tunnels, and now they need a power to save them. Weren't they the ones who were singing their praises? So what happened...?
In my opinion, the world should, for once, stand up to the bullying and tyranny of powerful countries. War will only bring destruction, poverty, prostitution, hunger, and displacement. The world should move towards confronting the perpetrators of these disasters. Bullying and mass murder by some countries, such as the Zionists, and the support of the world's super-bully, America, and even countries that, as supporters of some countries, engage in terror and unnecessary interventions in other countries, and even have no mercy for their own people and are dictators in a way, they should be deprived of all benefits. In essence, everyone should enjoy peace, tranquility, and well-being ...
Iran is hot on its heels. I am certain and I see a bright future that America cannot do anything and is just making a fuss. It should be certain that if it is going to destroy Iran, first the State of Israel will be destroyed, and then part of America will be destroyed.
I have no opinion for now.