Iran Receives Major Shipment of Rocket Propellant

On March 29, a ship resembling the MV Jairan, one of two Iranian vessels under sanctions, was spotted in Bandar Abbas Anchorage. This location sits between Qeshm and Hormoz islands at coordinates 56.3515N 26.9960E.

This vessel measures about 127 meters long and features deck cranes similar to those on the MV Jairan, which weighs in at around 16,694 tons. It seems to still have containers onboard and is likely waiting for a spot to unload it’s cargo at the commercial port of Bandar Abbas. Given that the Eid festival has just begun—celebrating the end of Ramadan—the ship might remain anchored for a while longer.

56.3515N 26.9960E: Possible position of MV Jairan observed early on March 29

The Iranian authorities don’t seem overly concerned about security for MV Jairan; it made its journey from Shanghai without any stops and kept its AIS system active throughout. Interestingly, there’s no escort accompanying it while it waits in open waters.

Once unloaded, sodium perchlorate will likely be transported by rail to Tehran before heading to a processing facility where it’s transformed into ammonium perchlorate—a key ingredient in solid rocket fuel used by many Iranian medium-range missiles. The recent shipments aboard both MV Jairan and another vessel could possibly supply enough material for around 250 medium-range missiles like Khybar-Shikan or Fattah types—or even their counterparts used by Houthi forces.