Ships loaded with rocket fuel set to sail from China to Iran, Financial Times reported via Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two Iranian cargo ships carrying missile fuel components will sail from China to Iran in the next few weeks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing intelligence from security officials in two Western countries.

The reported transactions could make the Chinese entities involved subject to US sanctions aimed at curbing Iran’s weapons programmes, as the two Iranian ships are already subject to US sanctions.

The Financial Times said that the two Iranian-flagged ships, Golbon and Jeeran, are expected to carry more than 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, which is used to make ammonium perchlorate, the main component of solid fuel for missiles.

Ammonium perchlorate is among the chemicals controlled by the Missile Technology Export Control System, a voluntary international counter-proliferation body.

The Financial Times said officials could not determine whether Beijing knew about the shipments.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters at a regular press conference in Beijing that she was not aware of the details of the case, but that China always adheres to export control laws as well as the country’s international obligations. Mao added that China continues to oppose what it considers to be illegal unilateral sanctions.

The Financial Times report quoted two officials, whose names were not mentioned, as saying that sodium perchlorate could produce 960 tons of ammonium perchlorate, which is enough to make 1,300 tons of propellant, which could fuel 260 Iranian medium-range missiles. .

The officials said the sodium perchlorate was being shipped to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and that 34 20-foot (6-meter) containers containing the chemical were loaded onto the Golbun ship, which left China’s Dishan Island on Tuesday and was off the coast. The coast of Ningbo in China’s Zhejiang province early Wednesday.

The Financial Times said the ship is expected to leave China’s neighbors with 22 containers in early February. Officials told the Financial Times that both ships, owned by Iranian entities, are expected to make the three-week voyage to Iran without making any port calls.

Officials said the chemicals were loaded onto a Golbun ship at the port of Taicang, just north of Shanghai, and were destined for Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

US sanctions

Doug Jacobson, a Washington-based sanctions lawyer, said that although UN sanctions on Iran’s missile program are no longer in effect, Chinese entities involved in the alleged transactions could face US sanctions against dealings with both the IRGC and ships already under sanctions.

Van Van Diepen, a retired US nonproliferation official, said Chinese entities have been aiding Iran’s missile program since the 1980s. He added that Iran likely has its own facility to produce ammonia perchlorate at the moment, but it may need raw materials to make the chemical.

“It’s probably not a constant flow type,” he said. “But from time to time, over these many years, these types of shipments will continue.”

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but an official there, who requested anonymity, said that if the missiles were designed for use by Russia in Ukraine, the shipment could be subject to US sanctions. To stop dealings with Moscow.

In 2023, the United States imposed sanctions on people and entities in China, Hong Kong, and Iran, including the Iranian defense attaché in Beijing, over accusations that they helped purchase spare parts and technology to develop Iranian ballistic missiles. Similar sanctions were imposed on individuals and entities last year.