US: We are aware of reports of chemical propellant shipments from China to Iran

The government of Donald Trump, the new President of the United States, in its first comment regarding reports of shipments of missile propellant chemicals from China to the Islamic Republic of Iran, told Voice of America that it is 'aware' of these reports. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, in response to a question from Michael Lipin, a reporter for Voice of America, while expressing knowledge of the aforementioned reports, refrained from confirming them and stated, 'We do not comment on intelligence matters.' He said the U.S. will continue to focus on preventing the proliferation of items, equipment, and technologies that could assist the Iranian government's missile or military programs and will hold the Islamic Republic accountable through the imposition of further sanctions. Recently, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal, in separate reports citing some Western officials, announced that two Iranian cargo ships carrying missile fuel raw materials will depart from China for Iran in the coming days. According to the Financial Times, which reported on Wednesday, January 23, citing two Western security sources, it is expected that the ships 'Golban' and 'Jiran' will carry a cargo of over a thousand tons of 'sodium perchlorate,' a key ingredient in the production of solid missile fuel 'ammonium perchlorate.' According to these two informed sources, with this amount of 'sodium perchlorate,' 960 tons of 'ammonium perchlorate' can be produced for use in making 1,300 tons of missile fuel, which in turn can be used to launch 260 Iranian medium-range missiles. According to the Financial Times report, these shipments will be delivered to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to Western sources, the 'Golban' ship left the Chinese island of 'Daishan' on Tuesday, January 23, after loading 34 containers of 'sodium perchlorate.' The 'Jiran' ship is also expected to leave China for Iran after loading 22 containers of 'sodium perchlorate' in early next month. Western sources predict that these two ships belonging to the Islamic Republic will arrive in Bandar Abbas after three weeks. According to these informed sources, it is unclear whether the Chinese government is aware of these shipments. Meanwhile, according to this report, 'ammonium perchlorate' is among the chemicals subject to the 'Missile Technology Control Regime,' an international voluntary mechanism to combat the proliferation of missiles and missile technology. In 2023, the U.S. sanctioned several individuals and entities in China, Hong Kong, and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their involvement in supplying components and technology related to the advancement of the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile program. Last summer, Washington also imposed sanctions against five individuals and seven entities based in the Islamic Republic of Iran, China, and Hong Kong for their involvement in facilitating the Iranian government's missile and drone programs.