IRGC Secretly Acquired Chinese Spy Satellite to Coordinate Attacks on US Military Bases

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite in late 2024 and used it to monitor and target major U.S. military installations across the Middle East during the early 2026 conflict, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing leaked Iranian military documents. The satellite, designated TEE-01B, was built and launched by the Chinese company Earth Eye Co. and transferred to the IRGC Aerospace Force after its launch from China. The documents cited by the Financial Times include timestamped coordinate lists, satellite imagery, and orbital analyses showing Iranian commanders directing the satellite toward key American facilities. The White House, CIA, and Pentagon had not commented on the report as of publication time, according to the sources.

Satellite photographed Saudi base hours before confirmed strikes The TEE-01B satellite captured images of Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 13, 14, and 15, 2026, according to the Financial Times report. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on March 14 that American aircraft at the base had been hit following Iranian attacks. Beyond Saudi Arabia, the satellite also monitored Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, sites near the U.S. 5th Fleet naval base in Manama, Bahrain, and Erbil airport in Iraq — all locations where the IRGC claimed to have conducted attacks during the same period. The Financial Times reported that images were taken both before and after drone and missile strikes on those sites, suggesting the satellite was used both for pre-strike targeting and post-strike damage assessment. According to one expert cited by the publication, the satellite data gave Iran a significant battlefield advantage it could not have achieved through its own domestic space program alone.

„Iran really needs this external capability during this war because it allows the IRGC to identify targets in advance and verify the success of its attacks” — Nicole Grajewski via Financial Times

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Emposat ground stations extended Iran's reach across three continents As part of the acquisition deal, the IRGC gained access to commercial ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing-based provider of satellite control and data transmission services, according to the Financial Times. Emposat's network spans Asia, Latin America, and other regions, giving Iran a geographically distributed infrastructure for operating the satellite beyond what its own facilities could provide. The monitored locations reportedly extended across Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Djibouti, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, according to reporting by Iran International cited in one of the sources. Nicole Grajewski, an expert on Iran at Sciences Po university, told the Financial Times that the satellite's management by the IRGC Aerospace Force rather than Iran's civilian space program made its military purpose unambiguous.

„This satellite is clearly used for military purposes because it is managed by the IRGC Aerospace Force and not by Iran's civilian space program” — Nicole Grajewski via Financial Times

Beijing denies report, key companies stay silent China's embassy in Washington rejected the Financial Times report in pointed terms, while the Chinese ministries of foreign affairs and defense did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Earth Eye Co. and Emposat also did not respond to comment requests, according to Reuters. The Financial Times report noted that Beijing's involvement in the satellite deal carries significant regional implications, given that China is the primary trading partner of Gulf states and the leading buyer of their oil. In recent days, President Trump had separately warned that China would face "major problems" if it supplied Iran with air defense systems, according to Reuters. The report arrives as the broader conflict between the U.S.-Israeli coalition and Iran — which ran from February 28 to April 8, 2026 — has drawn intense scrutiny over the role of third-party states in enabling Iranian military operations.

„Resolutely opposes the dissemination of speculative and insinuating disinformation about China” — Chinese Embassy in Washington via Financial Times

The conflict between the United States and Iran has deep roots stretching back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which severed diplomatic ties between the two countries. Iran's space and missile programs have long been intertwined with its military ambitions, with the IRGC Aerospace Force overseeing both ballistic missile development and satellite launches. China and Iran signed a 25-year cooperation agreement in 2021 that covers economic, military, and security dimensions, raising longstanding concerns in Washington about Beijing's role in bolstering Iranian capabilities. The Gulf region hosts some of the largest concentrations of U.S. military infrastructure outside the continental United States, making it a persistent focus of Iranian targeting strategy.