Iran used a Chinese-built spy satellite to help target U.S. military bases across the Middle East during the war, according to multiple outlets, raising fresh concerns about Beijing’s role in the war and ties with Tehran.
The satellite, identified in reports as TEE-01B, was acquired by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force in 2024 and used to monitor U.S. and allied installations before and after missile and drone strikes earlier this year, according to a Financial Times investigation.
Targets reportedly included U.S. bases in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Bahrain, and other parts of the Gulf region, reflecting the broad scope of Iran’s military campaign during the war.
China has denied providing direct military assistance to Iran, but the reported satellite cooperation underscores growing strategic ties between the two countries. China is Iran’s most valuable ally, as Iran relies on the country for chemicals used in ballistic missile programs.
President Donald Trump said this week that Chinese President Xi Jinping had assured him Beijing would not send weapons to Iran, even as reports suggested broader forms of support may be underway.
Trump claimed the agreement was the result of his promise to Xi that the Strait of Hormuz would be opened. However, the United States has imposed a blockade of the vital oil shipping route.
“China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said. “I am doing it for them, also — and the world. This situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran.”
Trump recounted the exchange with Xi on Wednesday morning in an interview with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo.
TRUMP SAYS CHINA AGREED NOT TO SEND WEAPONS TO IRAN
“He responded to a letter I wrote because I had heard that China is giving weapons … to Iran,” he said in the interview, aired on Wednesday morning. “I wrote [Chinese President Xi Jinping] a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying essentially he’s not doing that.”
The president is scheduled to travel to China to meet with Xi in May, a trip that was initially delayed due to the war in Iran. The trip is set to mark the first state visit to Beijing by a U.S. president since Trump’s visit in 2017.