Tehran’s growing reliance on Beijing—a consequence of the battering its missile program has suffered from Israeli strikes—highlights the alignment of Iran and China with Russia and North Korea.

Two sanctioned Iranian ships have loaded a key ingredient for making missile propellant in China. Western intelligence sources told the Financial Times that the 2,724-teu container ship Golbon (built 2004) and the 22,600-dwt multipurpose Jairan (built 2000) will bring sodium perchlorate to Iran in the coming weeks.

Named the Golbon and the Jairan, the Iranian vessels will carry more than 1,000 tonnes of sodium perchlorate to fuel medium-range missiles.