Reuters was unable to verify the report. There has been no comment yet from the White House, the CIA, the Pentagon, the Chinese defense and foreign ministries, or from EarthImaging and Embosat, a Beijing-based company that provides satellite control and data services with a network extending across Asia, Latin America, and other regions. The report indicated that as part of the deal, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gained access to commercial ground stations operated by Embosat. The Financial Times noted that the images were taken in March before and after drone and missile strikes on those locations. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Iran secretly used a Chinese satellite for espionage, giving Tehran new capabilities to target U.S. military bases across the Middle East during the latest war. A report, citing leaked Iranian military documents, stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force received the satellite (TEE-01B), built and launched by the Chinese company EarthImaging, from China in late 2024 after its launch into space. The newspaper, citing dated coordinates, satellite images, and orbital analysis, reported that Iranian military commanders directed the satellite to monitor key U.S. military sites.
