- An FT report says Iran acquired a Chinese spy satellite in 2024.
- Leaked documents suggest the IRGC is using satellites to monitor US sites.
- Satellite images were reportedly captured before and after the strikes on the bases.
China rejected a Financial Times report as “fabricated”, rejecting claims that Beijing provided covert satellite support to Iran, allowing it to target US military bases in the Middle East during the ongoing conflict.
The report claims that Iran secretly acquired a Chinese-made spy satellite in late 2024, which it used to monitor and strike U.S. military installations in the region.
The TEE-01B satellite, built and launched by China’s Earth Eye Co, was acquired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force after being launched into space from China, the report said, citing leaked Iranian military documents.
Iranian military commanders ordered the satellite to monitor key U.S. military sites, the newspaper said, citing lists of time-stamped coordinates, satellite images and orbital analyses. The images were taken in March before and after drone and missile strikes on these sites, the agency said. Financial Times said.
Under the deal, the IRGC gained access to commercial ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing-based provider of satellite monitoring and data services with a network spanning across Asia, Latin America and other regions, according to the report.
Rejecting the claims, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Reuters: “Recently, some forces have been eager to fabricate rumors and maliciously associate them with China.”
“China firmly opposes this type of practice motivated by ulterior motives,” the statement read.
Reuters could not verify the report.
The White House, the CIA and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to this request. Reuters’ requests for comments. Earth Eye Co and Emposat also did not immediately respond to Reuters requests.
The report said the White House has not commented on relations between Emposat and the IRGC, but a spokesperson referred to comments made over the weekend by US President Donald Trump when he warned that China would face “big problems” if it supplied Iran with air defense systems.
When asked about this, the Chinese Embassy in Washington told the newspaper: “We firmly oppose the dissemination of speculative and insinuating disinformation against China by relevant parties.”
The satellite captured images of Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 13, 14 and 15, according to the report.
On March 14, Trump confirmed that U.S. planes at the base had been hit.
According to the report, the satellite also monitored Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and locations near the U.S. Fifth Fleet naval base in Manama, Bahrain, and the airport in Erbil, Iraq, at the time of attacks claimed by the IRGC on installations in those areas.
