A senior cleric appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader suggested in a sermon on Friday that US president Donald Trump was the one-eyed Islamic equivalent of the Antichrist prophesied to menace humanity around judgment day.
"He is completely one-eyed, and this is a sign of the end times," Seyyed Hassan Ameli told congregants in a sermon for Islamic Friday prayers according to the Tehran-based Didban News website.
Ameli is Ali Khamenei's representative to deliver the weekly sermon in the large northwestern city of Ardabil, and Friday prayer-leaders' remarks reflect official thinking in the theocracy.
In Islamic eschatology, a figure called Dajjal is a false messiah who will emerge in the end times, spreading corruption and misleading people with false promises of power and prosperity before being ultimately defeated by a righteous messiah.
His description in Islamic scripture as "one-eyed" has been interpreted to refer to his deception and ability to manipulate others for personal gain.
"The new US president has a completely one-sided view," Ameli said.
"He sees the world purely through a materialistic lens and openly declares that America is a business corporation."
"He covets wealth wherever it exists—whether it's Middle Eastern oil, Syrian oil, or Ukraine’s minerals," he continued.
Ameli further criticized Trump’s approach to foreign relations, saying that the US president has used intimidation tactics to pressure countries into submission, expecting Iran to comply in the same way.
Reimposing the so-called "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran from his first term this month, the hawkish Republican president has said he much prefers a deal on Iran's disputed nuclear program over any military attack on the country.
Trump then shocked Mideast leaders by saying he planned to seize and re-develop the Gaza Strip into the "riviera of the Middle East" after a 15-month incursion by US-allied Israel flattened much of the coastal enclave.
Khamenei appeared to promptly blast that idea, rejecting Trump's territorial ambitions as a fantasy.
The shipment of 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate was transported from China aboard the Golbon, which departed from Taicang port on January 21. The second vessel, the Jairan, has yet to depart, according to ship tracking data and intelligence sources cited by CNN.
Iran’s missile production infrastructure was severely damaged by Israeli strikes on Oct. 26 2024, which some experts believed would set back its solid propellant production by a year. However, the arrival of this shipment suggests that Iran could be resuming production sooner than anticipated.
Sodium perchlorate is a key precursor for ammonium perchlorate, an essential component in solid rocket propellant used in mid-range ballistic missiles.
Western intelligence sources cited by CNN estimate that the shipment could enable Iran to produce enough solid propellant for up to 260 Kheibar Shekan or 200 Haj Qasem missiles—both capable of reaching targets up to approximately 1,450 kilometers away.
The delivery was purchased for the Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization (SSJO), a division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responsible for missile development, according to CNN’s intelligence sources.
The Golbon and Jairan are operated by the US-sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), which Washington and London accuse of facilitating military-related transfers for Tehran.
Iran, lacking an effective air force, has heavily relied on developing short- and medium-range missiles, including a variety of ballistic delivery systems.
The United States and its European allies have long pushed for limits on Tehran's missile program, citing concerns that some missiles could eventually carry nuclear warheads.
Last year, Iran launched ballistic missile attacks on Israel twice, prompting the US and allied air defenses to intercept and shoot down most of the projectiles.
The Financial Times first reported on the shipment in January, citing Western security officials who estimated that the 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate could yield 960 tons of ammonium perchlorate, producing approximately 1,300 tons of solid propellant—enough to power hundreds of mid-range missiles.
This shipment comes as Iran faces growing regional challenges, including the fall of its ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Hezbollah’s setbacks in Lebanon.
