By Pishtaz | 2025-04-03

A second sanctioned Iranian vessel that is reportedly carrying a cargo of missile fuel precursor chemicals from China has arrived at Iran's Bandar Abbas port from China, raising fresh concerns about Tehran's weapons program.

Jairan, operated by the sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), made no attempt to conceal its journey from Shanghai, The Maritime Executive reported March 30.

It travelled directly to Iran with its tracking system active, the maritime publication said, with a cargo of sodium perchlorate, a key chemical component used in missile fuel production.

"The shipment of Chinese sodium perchlorate indicates a rapid rebuilding of Iran’s missile industry since Israeli strikes in October – with Beijing’s help," The Diplomat reported February 4.

Sodium perchlorate, which is not under sanctions, can be chemically transformed into ammonium perchlorate, which is a controlled product, CNN reported.

"Perchlorates have a fairly narrow range of uses," University College London professor of inorganic chemistry Andrea Sella told the media outlet.

"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 added.

He noted that increasing controls on perchlorates in the West have seen China become a major alternative supplier.

If confirmed, the combined shipments aboard Jairan and the Golbon, which arrived more than a month earlier, could provide enough material to fuel approximately 250 medium-range missiles, per The Maritime Executive.

Procurement network

In March 2022, the US Treasury sanctioned Iranian agent Mohammad Ali Hosseini for using Chinese suppliers to obtain ballistic missile propellant and related materials through falsified shipping documents.

It also blacklisted P.B. Sadr Co. for acting as a key intermediary in procuring Chinese centrifuge components used in missile propellant production for Parchin Chemical Industries -- part of the regime's Defense Industries Organization.

The United States has intensified pressure on Tehran's maritime networks, including its "shadow fleet" tankers shipping sanctioned oil to buyers in Asia, primarily China, and vessels delivering arms to the Houthis in Yemen.

In November 2022, US forces intercepted a vessel in the Gulf of Oman carrying 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate and 100 tons of urea fertilizer bound for Yemen.

"This was a massive amount of explosive material, enough to fuel more than a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles depending on the size," US Naval Forces Central Command's Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said at the time.

Neither China nor the Islamic Republic participate in the multilateral Missile Technology Control Regime -- an informal agreement among 35 member states that restricts trade in missile components and fuel materials.