US intelligence assessments have found that satellite data and intelligence support from Chinese groups have significantly enhanced Iran’s precision-strike and vessel-tracking capabilities across the Middle East.
This external intelligence has been linked to improved accuracy in threatening ships in the Strait of Hormuz and a lethal strike on a US military base in Jordan, CNN reported, citing four sources.
The sources said that the strike on the US base in Jordan that killed three US service members was with a level of precision that was beyond Iran’s domestic capabilities.
One of the officials said that Chinese geospatial data has helped Iran with its missile and drone strikes on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. According to two additional sources, Iran uses this data to precisely time drone launches, allowing even their basic, non-maneuverable heat-seeking models to threaten ships.
Apart from this, Russia has been providing Iran with support and the battlefield experience acquired by Iran during the conflict, combined, serve as crucial factors.
US officials state it is difficult to accurately measure the scale of China’s assistance. This difficulty stems from uncertainty over whether Beijing is actively directing the support or simply permitting it, alongside internal disagreements among officials regarding the true extent of China’s help.
How China’s Satellite Data Helps Iran’s Heatseeking Drones
Iran’s heatseeking drones are not very sophisticated but with the help of Chinese satellite imagery, they launch a large number of drones at the ships at the most favourable moment and attack US military escorts and commercial vessels.
“There’s a reason that their targeting has improved, and it is due to some assistance,” one of the sources said. “Getting reps on the battlefield helps, but getting a helping hand helps a lot too.”
Another source said, “They’re getting better because we’ve essentially given them more time to train.” They also claimed that China has equipped Iran with air defence systems.
China Denies That Firms Are Supplying Data To Iran
Earlier in the month, a report by The Wall Street Journal found that the deadly Iranian ballistic missile strike followed months of unheeded warnings from the Trump administration to Beijing regarding Chinese firms supplying targeting data to Tehran.
At the time, the Chinese Embassy in the US clarified that the help Beijing provides Tehran is in compliance with international law and that critics were “maliciously linking and smearing other countries” by taking advantage of the conflict.
Read | Chinese Satellite Intel Linked To Iran Strike That Killed 3 US Troops: Report
According to experts and former officials cited by The Wall Street Journal, the imagery likely represented one component of Iran’s broader intelligence operation. US officials add that the Iranian military regularly supplements its data with domestic satellites, human assets, and intelligence provided by Russia.
US Says China’s Help To Iran “Totally Unacceptable”
Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Washington for a summit with US President Donald Trump. During candid talks at the White House, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said on Friday that any help given to Iran was “totally unacceptable”.
“We made it very clear to them weeks ago that, you know, any help that they would give Iran, whether it be direct or indirect, whether it be intelligence or parts or military equipment, was totally unacceptable. President Trump made that very clear again yesterday. This is an ongoing drumbeat,” Perdue said in an interview with CNBC.
“These two leaders are beginning to develop a relationship of somewhat trust and also working on the issues. I mean, this was a very candid and open conversation, and every time they talk, I think we see a different level of intimacy about these difficult issues that we’re dealing with.”
However, when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was questioned about China’s role in the attack, he said, “nothing that China has done has in any way changed the trajectory of the conflict.”
In May, the US sanctioned three Chinese companies Mizart Vision, Earth Eye and Chang Guang saying that supplying satellite imagery to Iran “threatens American and partner personnel.”
The report stated that officials are frustrated because the US is wide open to low- and medium-altitude drone and missile attacks. The US spent billions on advanced defence systems, but they only protect against high-altitude weapons, leaving a dangerous blind spot.
“Without the Chinese parts they wouldn’t be as likely to keep fighting, it is as basic as that,” a US official stated.
