Senators Seek Sanctions on China for Aiding Iran’s Missile Program
Eight Republican members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, urged the State Department this week to sanction Chinese entities involved in transferring missile propellant ingredients to Iran.
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In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators said the sanctions targets should include “any Chinese companies sourcing the propellants and any Chinese ports that allow sanctioned Iranian ships to dock.” President Donald Trump’s recent move to reimpose “maximum pressure” on Iran (see 2502050020) “requires imposing costs on Communist China,” which is "propping up" Iran's missile program, the letter says.
The correspondence cites reports that two Iranian cargo ships, the Golbon and the Jairan, both of which are linked to the U.S.-sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL) (see 2006090027), are set to deliver 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate from China to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. That amount of the chemical would allow Iran to produce hundreds of mid-range missiles, replenishing inventories it depleted by attacking Israel, arming terrorist groups and Russia, and having its missile production facilities degraded by Israeli air strikes, the senators said.
In addition to advocating sanctions, the letter encourages the State Department to work with U.S. partners to intercept the shipments. It also recommends pressuring China to reverse its decision to allow Iran to sell millions of barrels of Iranian oil stored at Chinese ports. The department had no immediate comment on the letter.