Western intelligence sources tell CNN that several shipments of sodium perchlorate — a key precursor for solid rocket propellant — have arrived from China at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port since the UN “snapback” sanctions were reactivated at the end of September, potentially enabling a rapid revival of Tehran’s medium-range missile production.
U.S. and Western officials, shipping-trackers and recent sanctions filings say the cargoes (reported to total roughly 1,000–2,000 tons across multiple vessels) can be converted into ammonium perchlorate and would materially shorten Iran’s timeline for producing solid-fuel missiles; Washington has already targeted entities linked to procurement networks tied to these transfers.