Iran secretly got its hands on a Chinese spy satellite to target American bases in the Middle East during the war, leaked military documents revealed.
Following its launch to space in 2024, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had acquired Beijing’s TEE-01B satellite, tasking it to monitor key US military sites in the region, the Financial Times reported.
Time-stamped records show some of the images were taken last month before and after Iranian drone and missile attacks on those very bases.
The logs indicate that the satellite, which was built by the Earth Eye Chinese company, had taken images of the Prince Sultan Air Base, in Saudi Arabia, on March 13, 14, and 15.
It was during that same timespan that Iran struck the American base, damaging five US Air Force refueling planes.
The satellite also took images of the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, and several locations close to the US Fifth Feel naval base in Bahrain and Iraq, which also came under fire from the IRGC.
“This satellite is clearly being used for military purposes, as it is being run by the IRGC’s Aerospace Force and not Iran’s civilian space program,” Nicole Grajewski, an expert on Iran at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, told the FT.
“Iran really needs this foreign-provided capability during this war, as it allows the IRGC to identify targets ahead of time and check the success of its strikes,” she added.
The TEE-01B, which launched on June, 6, 2024, was intended to be used for agriculture, emergency management and municipal transportation purposes, according to Earth Eye Co.’s website.
The IRGC, however, took control over the satellite in September 2024 after forking over about $36 million, the FT reported.
Earthy Eye confirmed that it carried out an “in-orbit” transfer of the satellite to a member of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a coalition that Iran joined back in 2021.
Under the agreement, the IRGC receives access to ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing-based satellite control and data services provider with networks extending across Asia and Latin America.
Neither Earth Eye Co. nor Emposat have responded publicly to the deal with Iran.
Iran’s use of the Chinese spy satellite comes as concerns grow over China’s willingness to help Iran, with Beijing reportedly preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Tehran in the coming weeks.
Trump said Wednesday that China has agreed not to arm Tehran, saying that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reached an understanding prior to their summit scheduled next month.
“They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
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