Western intelligence agencies have revealed that Iran is actively rebuilding its ballistic missile program in defiance of renewed UN sanctions, with significant assistance from China, according to a CNN report.
European intelligence sources said that several shipments of sodium perchlorate, a key ingredient in the solid fuel used to power medium-range missiles, arrived at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port in late September. The cargo, totaling around 2,000 tons, was reportedly purchased from Chinese suppliers to replenish stockpiles damaged during Iran’s June conflict with Israel.
Since the reimposition of sanctions, between ten and twelve shipments have been tracked, indicating a sharp escalation in Iran’s rearmament efforts.
China, Iran’s main economic and diplomatic ally, continues to buy most of Tehran’s oil exports through complex smuggling networks and a “dark fleet” of tankers that conceal the origin of Iranian crude. Western security officials say front companies, some already under U.S. sanctions, are now being used to ship sodium perchlorate to Iran.
The shipments come after the UN “snapback” mechanism was triggered in late September, reinstating sanctions in response to Tehran’s violations of the 2015 nuclear deal.
While sodium perchlorate is not explicitly banned, it can be used to produce ammonium perchlorate, an internationally prohibited oxidizer used in ballistic missiles.
Experts suggest that this legal gray area gives Beijing plausible deniability, allowing it to continue exporting materials that indirectly support Iran’s missile program.
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