NEW YORK
Iran secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite in late 2024 that has allowed it to target US military bases across the Middle East during the current war, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, an account Beijing dismissed as untrue.
The TEE-01B satellite, built and launched by Chinese company Earth Eye Co. was acquired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force after it was launched into space from China, the report said, citing leaked Iranian military documents.
Iranian military commanders directed the satellite to monitor major US military sites, the newspaper said, citing time-stamped coordinate lists, satellite imagery and orbital analysis. The images were taken in March before and after drone and missile strikes on those locations, the Financial Times said.
As part of the deal, the IRGC received access to commercial ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing-based provider of satellite control and data services with a network extending across Asia, Latin America and other regions, according to the report.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry denied the report, calling it untrue. “Recently, some forces have been keen on fabricating rumors and maliciously associating them to China,” the ministry said in a statement.
“China firmly opposes this kind of practice driven by ulterior motives,” read the statement.
Reuters could not verify the report.
