Chinese entities reportedly supplied Iran with satellite imagery linked to deadly attack on US base

Chinese entities provided Iran with high-quality satellite imagery of a US Air Force base in Jordan before and after the Islamic Republic carried out a deadly attack there on July 17, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing US officials familiar with the details.

The officials, who decline to identify the entities, say the US has linked the imagery to the attack and that this was the clearest evidence yet that Chinese support for Iran during the war has contributed to the killing of US troops, according to the Journal.

Senior US officials reportedly brought up the imagery from the Muwaffiq Salti Air Base with their Chinese counterparts, but the Chinese officials rejected the allegations, the Journal cites its sources as saying.

The newspaper quotes a spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington as saying Chinese-Iranian cooperation was in line with international law, and accusing unidentified detractors of “maliciously linking and smearing other countries.”

The spokesperson does not address the specific allegations about the July 17 attack, the Journal says.

Beijing has refused to acknowledge that any Chinese firms have supplied Iran with satellite imagery to target US forces, according to the sources cited by the Journal.

The outlet adds that the US findings could deepen China-US tensions ahead of the planned September 24 White House summit meeting of US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Iran’s ballistic missile attack on the Muwaffiq Salti Air Base killed three troops. They were the first US troops killed in the Iran war since an April ceasefire. The attack came as Washington and Tehran both suspended a June interim deal.