Iran used Chinese spy satellite to target US bases in Middle East: Report

Iran has used a Chinese-made spy satellite to target US bases in the Middle East during the war that began with attacks by the US and Israel, the British newspaper Financial Times (FT) claimed on Wednesday.

The newspaper said the report is based on leaked military documents, satellite images, and orbital analyses, which revealed that a Chinese-made satellite was used to monitor US military sites.

According to the analysis, the satellite TEE-01B, produced by the China-based company Earth Eye and launched into space at the end of 2024, was allegedly purchased by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after its launch.

Orbital examinations indicated that the spy satellite, capable of providing imagery with a resolution of about half a meter, was positioned over US military bases during drone and missile attacks.

The monitored targets reportedly included US military facilities in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, and Iraq.

The report stated that the images were recorded immediately before and after the drone and missile attacks and argued that the satellite may have been used to help direct the strikes.

Iran had been granted permission to use ground stations belonging to the Beijing-based company Emposat, allowing it to access satellite data not only through its own territory but also through a network stretching from Asia to Latin America, it claimed.

Experts said this situation represented a major development in Iran’s military intelligence capabilities and assessed that a technology transfer of this scale would be unlikely to occur without Beijing’s approval.

US President Donald Trump had previously said that he was considering imposing a 50% tariff on countries providing military support to Iran.