- Iran used a Chinese-built satellite to track US military sites in the Middle East during conflict
- The TEE-01B satellite was developed by China’s Earth Eye Co. and taken over by Iran’s IRGC Aerospace Force
- The use of a Chinese satellite by Iran raises concerns amid China's strong economic ties in the Gulf region
Iran relied on a Chinese-built satellite it quietly obtained last year to help track US military positions across the Middle East during the recent conflict, the Financial Times has reported.
The satellite, known as TEE-01B, was developed and launched by the Chinese firm Earth Eye Company before being taken over by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Aerospace Force.
Earth Eye Company operates under a relatively obscure export model known as "in-orbit delivery," whereby spacecraft launched in China are transferred to overseas buyers only after they have successfully reached orbit.
According to the report, Iranian commanders tasked it with keeping watch on key American military installations in the region.
As part of the arrangement, the IRGC was also granted access to a network of commercial ground stations run by Emposat, a Beijing-based satellite services provider with operations spanning Asia, Latin America and beyond.
US Bases The Spy Satellite Tracked
The satellite is said to have captured imagery of Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan Air Base on March 13, 14 and 15. A day later, on March 14, US President Donald Trump acknowledged that American aircraft stationed there had been damaged.
The report adds that TEE-01B also tracked activity around Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, sites near the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, and Erbil Airport in Iraq around the same period that the IRGC claimed strikes in those areas.
Its surveillance footprint extended further, covering US-linked facilities such as Camp Buehring and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, and Duqm International Airport in Oman. It also monitored civilian infrastructure across the Gulf, including the Khor Fakkan container port and the Qidfa power and desalination complex in the United Arab Emirates, as well as Bahrain's Alba aluminium plant, one of the largest in the world.
"There is no way that any Chinese company could do something like launch a satellite without somebody in the administration giving it the go-ahead," said one former senior Western intelligence official to the publication. "I think it's been very clear for some time that China has been helping the Iranians with intelligence, but trying to keep the hand of government hidden."
The reported use of a Chinese-origin satellite by the IRGC, particularly during a conflict in which Iran has repeatedly launched missiles and drones at neighbouring countries, is likely to raise concerns across the Gulf. The sensitivities are heightened by China's deep economic ties in the region, where it is both the leading trading partner and the biggest buyer of oil.
Separately, earlier reports have suggested that Iran also gained access to Russian satellite intelligence on US and Israeli targets after the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran began on February 28.
China's Foreign Ministry has repeatedly denied in recent days that the country is providing any form of military support to Iran.
China has long supported Iran's ballistic missile programme and backed it with dual-use industrial components that can be used for missile production, according to the US government.
