The Wall Street Journal has reported that Iran recently submitted a large-scale request to China for thousands of tons of ballistic missile components, marking a strategic move to rebuild its military capabilities following Israeli strikes that targeted key infrastructure.
According to the American newspaper, the goal is not only to revive Iran’s domestic missile production but also to expand its support for regional allies, particularly the Yemeni Houthis and Iraqi resistance factions. Citing informed sources, the report revealed that the deal includes significant shipments of ammonium perchlorate, a chemical oxidiser used in the manufacturing of solid-fuel rocket propellants.
The quantity ordered, the report says, is sufficient to produce around 800 ballistic missiles. Moreover, some of the components may reportedly be transferred to Iran-aligned factions in both Yemen and Iraq, further bolstering the axis of resistance.
The report also clarified that the deal was signed before U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his willingness in early March to resume nuclear talks with Tehran. The Iranian move came in response to the Israeli airstrike on Tehran in October 2024, which temporarily disrupted the Islamic Republic’s solid-fuel missile production program.
Since then, Iran has initiated repairs to resume production, the report noted. Earlier this year, according to previous intelligence, two Iranian cargo ships transported over 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate—a precursor to ammonium perchlorate—from China to Iranian ports. These shipments, delivered in February and March, are believed to have supported the production of at least 260 short-range missiles.
Furthermore, the report claimed that Iran has recently delivered ballistic missiles to Iraqi Shia factions with the capability to strike both Israel and U.S. military bases. Additional shipments of Chinese missile components are also expected to reach the Houthis in Yemen.
In a related development, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed new sanctions in April and May targeting Iranian and Chinese entities accused of procuring sensitive materials on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its missile program, as well as supplying these materials to Houthi forces.
The report identified one of the key players in the transaction as a Hong Kong-based Chinese company, Leone Commodities Holdings Ltd., which contracted with an *Iranian firm named Bashgaman Tejarat Rafi Novin Co.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, quoted in the report, denied knowledge of the deal, stating that Beijing enforces strict controls on dual-use materials in line with its international obligations.
