Import of 2,000 tons of sodium perchlorate; "Iran is rapidly rebuilding its missile program"

CNN reported on Wednesday, November 27, that Iran is rapidly rebuilding this program, despite the reimposition of UN sanctions in October that prohibit arms sales to Tehran and its ballistic missile activities.

The network reported, citing European intelligence sources, that since the activation of the "trigger mechanism" and the return of UN sanctions on October 25, several shipments of sodium perchlorate, the main material for producing solid fuel for Iran's medium-range missiles, have arrived from China to Bandar Abbas.

These sources say the shipments, which arrived on September 29, contain 2,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, which Iran purchased from Chinese suppliers after a 12-day conflict with Israel in June and July.

According to CNN, the purchases are believed to be part of Iran's determined effort to rebuild its depleted missile stockpile. Several Chinese cargo ships and entities involved in the deal are under U.S. sanctions.

The import of these chemicals comes after three European countries, Britain, France, and Germany, accused Iran of violating its commitments under the agreement between Tehran and six world powers, known as the "JCPOA," and called on the United Nations to reinstate sanctions on Iran, more than a month before the expiration of Security Council Resolution 2231 and the termination of the trigger mechanism.

Iran, along with Russia and China, have rejected the move and said they do not recognize it. Beijing and Moscow say it undermines efforts to "diplomatically resolve the Iranian nuclear issue."

Banning Iran's missile program

Under the new sanctions, Iran must not conduct any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. UN member states must also prevent Iran from providing materials that could help it develop a nuclear weapons delivery system, which experts say could include ballistic missiles.

Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful and has no military objectives. However, three key Iranian facilities, Fordow, Natanz and the Isfahan uranium enrichment facility, were bombed during the 12-day war with Israel and the July 1st U.S. attack. U.S. President Donald Trump has said the facilities were “totally and utterly destroyed.”

Under UN sanctions, countries are also required to prevent Iran from providing assistance to build weapons.

While sodium perchlorate is not specifically listed in UN documents as a prohibited substance for export to Iran, it is used to produce ammonium perchlorate, a listed and prohibited oxidizer in the manufacture of ballistic missiles.

However, experts say that the lack of an explicit ban on the chemical in the sanctions may allow China to argue that the substance does not violate any UN bans.

Tracking ships carrying sodium perchlorate

CNN says it has tracked the journey of several cargo ships identified by intelligence sources as carrying the latest shipments of sodium perchlorate from Chinese ports to Iran using ship tracking data and the social media accounts of crews.

According to the report, many of these ships appear to have made multiple trips between China and Iran since late April. European intelligence sources say the crews on these ships appear to be employed by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, and their regular posts on social media show a track record of their stops on their journey from China to Iran.

“Iran now needs much more sodium perchlorate to replace missiles used in the war and to increase production,” said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

He added: “I expect large shipments to be sent to Iran as Tehran tries to rebuild its weapons stockpiles, just as I expect Israel and the United States to work together to replace interceptors and spent ammunition.”

According to Lewis, “Two thousand tons of sodium perchlorate is only enough for about 500 missiles. That’s a lot, but Iran planned to produce about 200 missiles a month before the war and now needs to replace all the missiles that Israel has either destroyed or used against it.”

Source: Radio Farda