by Bart Marcois
Stop the Sejjil at its source: cripple the Jajarm aluminum-powder plant, and Iran’s fast-launch missile program runs out of fuel before it can threaten U.S. forces and allies.
The Islamic Republic has unveiled a new and dangerous weapon: the Sejjil missile. It can be set up and launched with minimal delay, making it harder to hit with preemptive strikes. Iran has only a few hundred, but they are produced indigenously. Fortunately, there is a simple way to stop production for good.
The Sejjil’s menace stems from its design for speed in deployment. Unlike Iran’s older liquid-fueled Shahab missiles, which take hours to prepare, leaving them vulnerable to preemptive strikes, the Sejjil runs on solid propellant. That means it is ready to be fired from road-mobile launchers in mere minutes, vanishing before countermeasures kick in.
Iranian state media claim it also has mid-descent maneuverability that allows it to dodge interceptors—they call it the “dancing missile”—but that has not been confirmed. There is no sign of side thrusters or similar features seen on other Iranian missiles that would make maneuvering possible.
The Sejjil was deployed for the first time on March 15. During Iran’s barrages on Sunday, Sejjil missiles targeted Israeli command centers and U.S.-linked sites, piercing defenses. Iranian commanders crowed about hits near a U.S. consular residence and boasted of the missile’s rapid launch and evasion tactics. With a 1,200-mile range, it threatens American bases from the GCC countries to as far away as Turkey and even possibly Djibouti, as well as cities in Israel.
What’s the Solid Fuel Powering the Sejjil?
What makes the Sejjil different is its solid fuel: a composite of aluminum powder and ammonium perchlorate (AP) that is a powerful military rough equivalent of the popular sport percussive Tannerite. The missile fuel mix—roughly 15–20 percent aluminum for explosive energy and 70 percent ammonium perchlorate as the oxidizer—ignites instantly. The chemistry is brutally efficient: aluminum burns in a blaze of heat, while AP decomposes to provide the oxygen. Launching it requires no delays for fueling, no fixed sites—just quick launches that don’t leave time for allied airstrikes before the missile takes off.
Iran imports the ammonium perchlorate from China, or at least sodium perchlorate that can be converted easily to AP. America and our allies have not succeeded in blocking those imports completely. But the other component, micropowdered aluminum, is a different story. And that gives America and our ally, Israel, a chance to stop production of the Sejjil.
Iran’s Domestic War Machine
Iran produces aluminum powder internally, from the bauxite ore to alumina (aluminum oxide), then to aluminum ingots, and finally to micronized powder. Most of the production and processing takes place in Jajarm, North Khorasan province. The Jajarm bauxite mine, Iran’s largest, feeds the adjacent alumina plant under the state-owned Iran Alumina Company (IAC). The alumina is then smelted into ingots at sites like IRALCO in Arak or SALCO in Lamerd. (Military targeters, please take note.)
The final, critical step occurs back in Jajarm, at the IRGC-controlled atomization facility about 6 miles northeast of the city. This dual-use site melts aluminum ingots in electric furnaces and blasts them into fine, spherical micron-sized particles perfect for propellants. IRGC documents, including a 2017 letter to Supreme Leader Khamenei, describe the plant as a “missile fuel project” for systems like the Sejjil. Satellite imagery and open-source intelligence suggest it remains unscathed despite strikes on nearby complexes like Khojir and Shahroud.
Cut the Cord
This factory has no civilian use. It is a war factory, churning out fuel for more Sejjils daily. The site derives its electricity from Iran’s national grid. Destroy the plant—or just sever that electricity by striking substations or lines—and the atomizers grind to a halt.
Precision strikes on the atomization plant and its power supply could avert untold bloodshed by starving Iran’s ability to produce more of these instruments of death. Each missile dismantled means fewer threats to American forces or to our Arab and Israeli allies in the region.
Decisive strikes win conflicts. We must neutralize Jajarm before Tehran unleashes more horror. End production of the Sejjil missiles now.
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Bart Marcois is a former U.S. diplomat and the former principal deputy assistant secretary of energy for policy and international affairs. He produces daily one-minute commentaries on political and global affairs at youtube@AMinuteWithBart.
Source: https://amgreatness.com/2026/03/17/how-to-stop-irans-dangerous-new-sejjil-missiles/
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