FT: Ships Carrying Propellant for Iranian Ballistic Missles to Set Sail From China

An armed member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carries an AK-47 rifle and monitors an area while standing next to an Iranian-made long-range surface-to-surface missile during a military rally in downtown Tehran, Iran, on January 10, 2025. Morteza Nikoubazl / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP

Iran’s beleaguered ballistic missile program will get a boost when a pair of container ships carrying more than 1,000 tonnes of sodium perchlorate, a key ingredient in missile propellant, depart from China in the coming weeks, according to a report in the Financial Times.

The chemicals are reportedly being shipped to ports controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s elite forces, according to a pair of Western intelligence sources quoted by the FT. 

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by Eric Olander

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