Two Iranian cargo ships carrying a chemical element found in missile propellent will set sail from China, according to Western security officials. The tankers, Golbon and Jairan, are set to begin their journey in the next few weeks, and are allegedly loaded with rocket fuel for Tehran's armed forces, according to The Financial Times.
Newsweek's map below illustrates the vessels' journeys after leaving Iranian waters in October and arriving in Chinese waters. It also marks their location as of publication time.
Newsweek reached out to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations for comment via email.
Newsweek also reached out to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment via email outside of business hours.
Why It Matters
Iran's alleged shipment of chemical elements for missile propellant to the armed forces suggests that Tehran's military could be preparing for conflict. If China is aiding Iran in procuring the chemicals for missile propellent, it could increase tensions with the U.S. and other Western nations.
What To Know
The ships are allegedly transporting more than 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, according to the Financial Times, a chemical element used to make ammonium perchlorate, the main compound in missile propellant. The amount of the chemical elements the Golbon and Jairan are carrying could produce 960 tons of ammonium perchlorate, which makes up 70 percent of the propellant for solid-fuel missiles. That amount of the chemical element can then produce 1,300 tons of propellant, which the officials said is enough to fuel 260 mid-range Iranian missiles like the Kheibar Shekan or Haj Qassem.
The officials said that the chemicals are being shipped to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the primary branch of the Iranian military. The Golbon ship left the island of Daishan, in the East China Sea, on January 21 after being loaded with 34 containers with the chemicals at Taicang, a port north of Shanghai. The Jairan is expected to leave China in early February, transporting 22 containers. Both ships are estimated to make a three-week journey back to Iran, with the Golbon heading to Bandar Abbas, a port in southern Iran.
The U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control lists the Golbon and Jairan as cargo vessels subject to secondary sanctions. The chemical ammonium perchlorate is one of many controlled by the Missile Technology Control Regime, an agreement between countries to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology, according to the U.S. Department of State. The Iranian government declined to provide a comment for the outlet about the shipments, and the Chinese embassy in Washington D.C. said that it was "not familiar" with the situation and that Beijing was committed to "maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East and Gulf region and actively promoting the political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue."
China and Iran have a strong relationship politically and economically, as Beijing is Tehran's largest trade partner, particularly in regard to oil exports, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The two countries also signed a Strategic Partnership Plan in 2021 that cemented security ties as it detailed more plans for joint military exercises and weapon-systems development. Beijing has allegedly been providing Iran military aid by providing Tehran's ballistic missile program with relevant satellite technology.
What People Are Saying
Dennis Wilder, a former CIA China analyst, told the Financial Times: "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."
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gustav C. Gressel, a former senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote: "In September 2010 Singapore confiscated a shipment of aluminium powder bound for Iran from China. Used for solid propelled missile fuel. Nonproliferation policies work and [China flag emoji] is a partner in the MTCR. (Sarcasm off)."
Jonathan Lord, the Senior Fellow and Director, Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security wrote: "In its defensive responsive to Iran's October missile attack, Israel severely damaged Iran's ability to make rocket fuel. China is attempting to resupply Iran with enough sodium perchlorate to fuel hundreds of missiles. The Axis of Upheaval at work."
What Happens Next
It is unknown what Iran will do with the shipments and if they do use them for rocket fuel, what conflict they may become involved in.
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