According to a report from the Financial Times on Wednesday, January 22, quoting two Western national security officials, two Iranian cargo ships will return from China carrying key chemical components for missile propellants.
The two cargo ships in question are the “Golbon” and “Jairan”, both flying the Iranian flag, and will be transporting over 1000 tons of sodium chlorate. Sodium chlorate is used in the production of ammonium perchlorate, the main component of solid missile propellants. Ammonium perchlorate makes up 70% of solid fuel missile propellants.
The officials indicated that this batch of sodium chlorate can produce 960 tons of ammonium perchlorate, which can then be used to manufacture 1300 tons of propellants, enough to fuel 260 Iranian medium-range missiles.
Ammonium perchlorate is one of the chemicals regulated by the Missile Technology Control Regime, an international non-proliferation organization.
The officials mentioned that these chemicals will be transported to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, the elite armed forces of Iran.
They added that the “Golbon” departed from Daishan Island in China on Tuesday, carrying 34 20-foot containers of chemicals. The “Jairan” is expected to set sail from China with 22 containers in early February. Officials stated that these two ships owned by Iranian entities are expected to embark on a three-week journey to Iran without making any stops at ports.
The officials explained that the chemicals were loaded onto the “Golbon” at the Taicang Port north of Shanghai, destined for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas in the southern Persian Gulf.