Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
China handed Iran satellite images of a US base before the strike that killed 3 service members
Before Iran carried out the July attack that killed three American service members, Tehran received high-resolution satellite images of a US base in Jordan from China.
This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing its sources in the US government.
The publication’s sources declined to name the Chinese entities that provided the images to Iran and did not assert direct involvement by Beijing. Tehran received images both before and after the attack.
According to US officials, senior US officials raised the issue of the images related to the 17 July attack with their Chinese counterparts, who denied it and demanded evidence.
Information about Beijing’s transfer of satellite data could heighten tensions between the US and China ahead of the planned summit between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 24 September.
Recall that during the 17 July attack, Iranian ballistic missiles struck the Muwaffaq Salti airbase in northeastern Jordan, where US forces were stationed. Three soldiers were killed and four others were wounded. Iran also struck manned and unmanned aircraft at the base.
US officials say the strikes on the base occurred after Trump administration officials for months warned their Chinese counterparts that Chinese companies were providing Iran with satellite imagery that it could use to attack US personnel and assets in the region. The Trump administration imposed sanctions on several Chinese companies in May, saying that supplying satellite images to Iran "threatened US personnel and partner personnel."
Over the three days after the July attack, Iran published high-resolution images showing damage to three separate areas of the base.
As early as March, US media reported that Russia was providing Iran with intelligence on the locations of US military forces in the Middle East, as well as on their regional allies.
In April, Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia had provided Iran with satellite intelligence on Israel’s power grid.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Китай передав Ірану супутникові знімки бази США перед ударом, унаслідок якого загинули 3 військових". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.