While the Trump administration has been negotiating with Iran about eliminating its capacity to enrich uranium and thus develop nuclear weapons, Iran has ordered thousands of tons of ammonium perchlorate — a chemical compound which functions as a ballistic-missile ingredient — from China.
The Wall Street Journal reported that, according to its sources, the shipments “are expected to reach Iran in coming months and could fuel hundreds of ballistic missiles.” The sources named an Iranian company, Pishgaman Tejarat Rafi Novin Co., as having ordered the chemicals from Hong Kong-based Lion Commodities Holdings Ltd.
In early April, the Times of London reported, “Iran has transferred long-range missiles to its proxy forces in Iraq for the first time … The Times has learnt that Tehran has been bulking up its presence in the region by supplying a new batch of weapons to powerful Shia militias in Iraq … It was the first time long-range surface-to-surface missiles had been in the possession of an Iran-allied militia in Iraq.”
Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!
“Ammonium perchlorate makes up 70% of the standard fuel load of most of Iran’s solid-fueled ballistic missiles,” The Maritime Executive has noted. “Iranian ballistic missiles which use ammonium perchlorate include medium range Khybar-Shikan and Fattah missiles, and the shorter range Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles. In original and variant form, these have been widely exported to Russia and Axis of Resistance allies, and have been used to attack shipping at sea and targets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel and Ukraine, as well as in the attacks causing injuries to American service personnel at Al Asad in Iraq.”
At the end of April, the Treasury Department designated “six entities and six individuals based in Iran and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for their role in a network procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”
“This network has facilitated the procurement of sodium perchlorate and dioctyl sebacate from the PRC to Iran,” the Treasury Department pointed out. “Sodium perchlorate is used to produce ammonium perchlorate, which is controlled by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), a multilateral political understanding among states that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology. Both ammonium perchlorate and dioctyl sebacate are chemicals usable in solid propellant rocket motors, which are commonly used for ballistic missiles.”
“In November 2022, U.S. naval forces said they intercepted a vessel in the Gulf of Oman carrying over 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate on a route commonly used by Iran to send weapons to the Houthis in Yemen,” The Wall Street Journal wrote.