Helping Iran, China is a Party in the War
[By Raji Rajagopalan]
China may claim neutrality and call for peace in the Middle East, but it is heavily invested in the Iran conflict. Perhaps because of its dependence on Iran for energy security, it is transferring dual-use technologies as well as military items, as has been reported in the media.
China has an arms-supply relationship with Iran that goes back decades and includes evasion of UN sanctions, including getting oil in return for weapons. And, along with Russia and Iran, it has a broader strategic interest in undermining the United States and the US-led international order. This motivation makes China’s actions even more concerning.
Several reports in recent weeks have revealed the extent of China’s active support for Iran. The Financial Times reported on 15 April that China had given Iran a commercial reconnaissance satellite, providing Tehran with precise targeting information to hit US military facilities in the Middle East. A Chinese company, Earth Eye Co, reportedly built and launched the TEE-01B satellite and provided in-orbit delivery to Iran. Another Chinese company, Emposat, also supplied Iran with satellite data and control services. These must have helped Iran target US bases in the war.
Other reports point to a Chinese geospatial AI and software company, MizarVision, which published satellite imagery with tagging data on several US military facilities prior to and even during the war.
On 12 April, CNN reported that China was providing Iran with new air-defence systems in the coming weeks. These were shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, CNN said. These are relatively short-range systems, but they still represent a serious danger to both helicopters and low-flying combat aircraft. The US-built Stinger is a good example, and its earlier version was credited with playing a major role in defeating Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the late 1980s. CNN’s sources said that China was shipping the weapons through third countries to hide their origin. China has denied the report.
A 3 April Telegraph report revealed that China was providing Iran with chemicals for fuel for ballistic missiles. The report added that four sanctioned vessels were at Iranian ports, with one more ship waiting offshore. They’d come from China’s Zhuhai Gaolan port and were transporting sodium perchlorate, a precursor material for solid-fuel rocket propellant. The quantity is reported to be enough for hundreds of ballistic missiles. The five ships reportedly belong to the Iran Shipping Line Group, which is under sanctions by the US, Britain and the European Union.
A report by the Wall Street Journal in 2025 also revealed that China was transferring such chemical precursors. The newspaper pointed to two Iranian ships loaded with around 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, enough for 260 mid-range Iranian missiles.
It’s also worth monitoring a deal that’s reportedly in the works. Reuters said in late February that Iran and China were close to completing a deal for the sale of Chinese-built CM-302 anti-ship cruise missiles to Tehran. With a range of 290 kilometers, the CM-302 is an export variant of the Chinese YJ-12 missile.
In addition to these material transfers that have assisted Iran, there have also been reports of China helping Iran’s drone program and other programs, improving Iran’s combat power.
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Raji Rajagopalan is a resident senior fellow at ASPI.
This article appears courtesy of The Strategist and may be found in its original form here.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.