Iran used Chinese spy satellite to target US bases, FT reports

Iran secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite in late 2024 that enabled it to target United States military bases across the Middle East during the recent war, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The TEE-01B satellite — built and launched by Chinese company Earth Eye Co — was obtained by the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after being sent into orbit from China, the report said, citing leaked Iranian military documents. Iranian commanders used the satellite to monitor major US military sites, the FT said, citing time-stamped coordinate lists, satellite imagery and orbital analysis. The images were captured in March, before and after drone and missile strikes on those locations. As part of the arrangement, the IRGC was granted access to commercial ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing-based satellite control and data services provider with a global network. Read: China rejects accusations of supplying weapons to Iran Reuters could not independently verify the report. The White House, Central Intelligence Agency and Pentagon, as well as China’s foreign and defence ministries and its embassy in Washington, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Earth Eye Co and Emposat also did not respond. The FT said the White House declined to comment on Emposat’s alleged links with the IRGC, but referred to remarks by US President Donald Trump, who warned at the weekend that China would face “big problems” if it supplied Iran with air defence systems. Responding to the report, the Chinese embassy in Washington said: “We firmly oppose relevant parties spreading speculative and insinuative disinformation against China.” Read More: US vice president says Trump seeking ‘grand bargain’ with Iran According to the FT, the satellite captured images of Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 13, 14 and 15. On March 14, Trump confirmed US aircraft at the base had been hit. The report added that the satellite also tracked the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, as well as locations near the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Manama, Bahrain, and Erbil airport in Iraq around the time of IRGC-claimed attacks.