Iran seeks China’s help with surveillance satellites, officials say

Iran is pursuing partnerships with two Chinese satellite companies, Western security officials say, as it seeks to expand its capability for remote surveillance and intelligence gathering, potentially including high-resolution images of military targets in Israel and across the Middle East.

The outreach has included multiple exchanges of delegations in recent months between Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Chinese companies, both of which manufacture and operate remote-sensing satellites with sophisticated cameras, according to U.S., European and Middle Eastern officials privy to intelligence reports describing the meetings.

Iran’s courtship of the two companies is being watched closely amid concerns that any deal that emerges could allow Iran to dramatically improve its ability to spy on U.S. and Israeli military installations as well as those of Arab rivals in the Persian Gulf, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. The two companies offer a line of satellites with optical equipment that is at least twice as sensitive as the most advanced satellites operated by Iran.

The visits are occurring against a backdrop of closer ties between Beijing and Tehran in the wake of a 25-year political and economic cooperation pact signed by the foreign ministers of both countries three years ago. Iran has previously sought help from Russia in developing a network of Iranian-controlled surveillance satellites, assistance that has expanded as Russia has grown reliant on Iran as a supplier of attack drones used in its war against Ukraine.

A confidential assessment seen by the Washington Post warns that a deal with China could supply Iran with enhanced targeting capability for its arsenal of ballistic missiles as well as early warning systems to detect impending attacks. Iran might then be in a position to supply satellite-derived intelligence to allies such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have launched missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf, or to Syrian and Iraqi militias responsible for drone and rocket attacks on U.S. military bases in the region. Iran has previously provided such groups with satellite imagery purchased from China, the document said.

While there were no reports of a formal agreement yet, the assessment described a flourishing relationship between Tehran and one of the companies, Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., with several exchanges of delegations and long stays by IRGC operatives and officials in China. Chang Guang, based in Changchun in China’s northeastern Jilin province, makes small, low-cost “cubesat” satellites with optical equipment still capable of producing images with a resolution as fine as 30 centimeters, a capability comparable with that of the most sophisticated U.S. and European commercial satellite companies. Iran’s Khayyam satellite produces images with a resolution of about 1 meter.

Iranian officials also were seeking a business arrangement with the Beijing-based MinoSpace Technology Co., which makes the Taijing-series remote sensing satellites, and participated in an exchange of delegations with it, the assessment said.

Neither of the Chinese companies is under U.S. or international economic sanctions. The IRGC’s Quds Force, an elite unit that conducts overseas operations, faces multiple U.S. sanctions for alleged support of terrorist operations.

Chang Guang and MinoSpace did not respond to emails requesting comment.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not reply to a request for information about the reported contacts with the Chinese firms.

Chang Guang was embroiled in controversy last year after reports that it supplied satellite services and imagery to Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. The reports linked the company to a $30 million agreement signed by Wagner officials in November 2022, nine months after the start of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.

China, one of Iran’s most important military partners historically, suspended most of its weapons sales to Tehran around 2005, as Western countries were tightening sanctions over Iran’s rapidly expanding nuclear program. Relations with Beijing gradually improved over the last decade, starting with a 2015 Chinese agreement to supply Iran with satellite-based navigation technology that allowed Tehran to improve the accuracy of its missiles and drones.

Many electronic components for Iranian aircraft originate in China. Under the 2021 agreement, the two countries have committed to training exercises and future joint development of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

China is now Iran’s biggest customer for petroleum products, and trade between the two countries has flourished, climbing to $32 billion last year. But that figure is dwarfed by China’s trade with Iran’s biggest gulf rivals: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

While Beijing has moved to upgrade its alliance with Tehran, Chinese officials have remained cautious about providing the kind of military aid that might inflame tensions with Iran’s neighbors or trigger international sanctions against Chinese companies. China also has appeared wary of contributing to an escalation in the Middle East that could shut down vital gulf waterways for oil tankers.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, China has repeatedly criticized the United States for its role in the region while calling on all sides to end the violence. It has not publicly condemned Hamas, a group heavily supported by Iran.

Analysts said China may believe it has a legitimate civilian cover for assisting Iran’s space program, since surveillance satellites have many nonmilitary uses, such as environmental monitoring and disaster response.

“It is certainly plausible that Chinese companies would be working with Iran on surveillance technology, since it’s not the same as providing weapons, from the Chinese viewpoint,” said Gary Samore, a former top adviser on arms control to the Clinton and Obama administrations who serves as director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. “The Chinese try to stay out of politics. The Middle East is a source of oil and gas, and they don’t want to compromise their relationships with the Saudis and the Emiratis.”

Moscow, meanwhile, remains the biggest booster of Iran’s burgeoning space program. Russia has launched at least two Iranian surveillance satellites into orbit since 2022, including the Pars-1 remote sensing satellite, which was dispatched into space in February aboard a Russian Soyuz-2 rocket. Iran claimed to have successfully launched four satellites in January using its own rockets. Three were communications satellites, and the fourth was a remote-sensing orbiter operated by the IRGC.