British media reports that Iran's missile production is secure, having purchased sodium perchlorate from a mysterious country—enough to fill four ships!
According to the Daily Telegraph, the reason for the recent abundance of missiles becomes clear when looking back at last year. At that time, four Iranian cargo vessels quietly departed Asian ports, returning home fully loaded with sodium perchlorate—the key raw material for solid-fuel missiles.
In fact, CNN reported on October 31, 2025, noting that all four ships have been placed on U.S. sanctions lists: the "Bazan," "Rayyan," "Biheta," and "Bashat." Analysts estimate that this batch of goods could support the production of hundreds of ballistic missiles, ensuring Iran’s missile manufacturing capacity remains stable in the short term.
Sodium perchlorate itself is not an illegal substance. It is widely used in civilian applications such as fireworks, matches, and water treatment. However, its chemical conversion pathway is well-defined, enabling it to be transformed into ammonium perchlorate—a core oxidizer in solid rocket propellants.
The United Nations sanctions list does not explicitly prohibit the export of sodium perchlorate, but it is highly sensitive regarding its final use. Iran has long relied on external supplies of such precursor chemicals, while its domestic production capacity is limited and insufficient to meet large-scale missile manufacturing demands.
The four cargo ships operated covertly. After returning from East Asia, they disabled their Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), causing their maritime tracks to vanish temporarily. Israeli thermal imaging satellites and radar systems continuously tracked their movements. The cargo was offloaded in batches at the port of Bandar Abbas under cover of night, with white-bagged materials directly taken over by the Revolutionary Guard.
Iran’s missile forces suffered heavy damage during Israeli air strikes in 2024, with multiple fuel mixing facilities destroyed, halting production. To restore combat capability, Tehran accelerated overseas procurement. In February and April 2025, Iran had already ordered thousands of tons of related raw materials, including ammonium perchlorate and sodium chlorate. The arrival of these four shipments of sodium perchlorate has established a continuous supply chain. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on several Chinese and Iranian entities, but the transactions were already completed.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861598561354762/
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