Overview
- Iran’s Pishgaman Tejarat Rafi Novin Co. placed an order with Hong Kong–based Lion Commodities for the oxidizer, with shipments due in coming months.
- Analysts estimate the volume of ammonium perchlorate could fuel production of up to 800 solid-fuel ballistic missiles.
- In late April, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned six entities and six individuals in Iran and China for supplying missile propellant to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
- Some of the oxidizer is expected to be diverted to Iran-backed militias such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels, raising security concerns in the Red Sea.
- The procurement coincides with fragile nuclear talks in which Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected a revised deal to cap Iran’s uranium enrichment.