Freighters on their way to Iran Is China supplying the regime with chemicals?
Two freighters leave a Chinese port for Iran - possibly loaded with military chemicals. Officially, Beijing is calling for restraint in the Iran war. Is China playing a double game?
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- According to a media report, two loaded freighters have left a Chinese port that is considered a transshipment point for military chemicals.
- According to the report, the two container ships are on their way to Iran.
- According to one expert, this is a deliberate political decision by Beijing. Officially, however, China is calling for restraint in the Iran war.
Two cargo ships belonging to an Iranian company with links to Tehran's missile program have left a storage port in China and are on their way to Iran. This was reported by the Washington Post, citing ship tracking data, satellite images and documents from the US Treasury Department.
According to the report, the two ships belong to the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL). This is a company that is subject to sanctions by the USA, the UK and the European Union. The company is accused of supplying Iran with military goods. According to experts, the Chinese port of Gaolan in Zhuhai is known for handling chemicals that are used as important components for rocket fuel.
"Deliberate political decision"
The freighters "Shabdis" and "Barzin" can hold 6500 and 14,500 containers respectively and are en route in international waters. According to the report, in addition to the two freighters, around a dozen other ships have left the port for Iran this year.
"The port of Gaolan is home to some of the largest liquid chemical storage terminals in southern China," said Miad Maleki, a former US Treasury Department official who worked on sanctions against Iran.
Isaac Kardon, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, tells the newspaper: "China could have detained these ships in port, imposed an administrative delay, invented a customs blockade - it could have used a variety of bureaucratic tools, but it did not. This is a deliberate political decision made during an active war in which Beijing is publicly calling for restraint."
The United States has for years accused China of providing missile-related technology and materials to its ally Iran. Beijing has often denied direct support and said the US accusations overstate trade in commercial goods.
