China Provided Iran With Satellite Images Used in Deadly Attack on American Troops, Report Says Ahead of Trump and Xi Meeting

Iran obtained high-resolution satellite imagery of an American base in Jordan from Chinese sources before launching the missile attack that killed three American soldiers in July, according to a new report.Citing US officials familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington has drawn a direct line between the Chinese-sourced imagery and the July 17 strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, though officials stopped short of confirming direct involvement from the Chinese government. According to the officials, Iran acquired the images both before and after the assault, but they declined to name the Chinese firms involved.“It is the clearest evidence so far that Chinese support for Iran during the war has had lethal consequences for U.S. forces,” one official told the Journal. The disclosure comes weeks before a planned September 24 meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington, adding a new layer of tension to already strained relations.Iranian ballistic missiles struck a housing area at the base in northeastern Jordan where U.S. troops were sleeping, killing three soldiers and wounding four others who were evacuated for treatment. The strike was one of three missile attacks on the base within a 24-hour span and marked the first American combat deaths since an April ceasefire.Within days of the attack, Iran published high-resolution images documenting damage across three sections of the base — visuals more detailed than the lower-resolution commercial satellite imagery the Journal’s own analysis had reviewed, which showed damage to more than 20 structures.Senior U.S. officials raised the imagery findings directly with their Chinese counterparts, who demanded evidence and rejected the allegations. Beijing has denied that Chinese companies supply such material to Iran.Liu Chang, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, did not directly address the specific claims but accused unnamed parties of “maliciously linking and smearing other countries,” the Journal reported, adding that China’s cooperation with Iran complied with international law.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked days after the attack whether China was feeding Iran targeting data, declined to answer directly, saying that “nothing that China has done has in any way changed the trajectory of the conflict.”Mr. Xi is preparing to bring a large business delegation on his trip to Washington — an unusual move given US skepticism toward Chinese investment and Beijing’s own strained ties with private enterprise, according to Reuters. Mr. Xi rarely travels abroad with corporate executives, many of whom fell out of favor after Beijing’s regulatory crackdowns on the technology, education, and property sectors that began in 2020.Two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters that the move is aimed partly at signaling China’s willingness to support investment and commercial ties with the United States while offering the White House potential economic wins ahead of the midterm elections.Mr. Xi last brought a sizable business contingent to America in 2015, including Alibaba founder Jack Ma and Tencent founder Pony Ma. During that visit, China signed a $38 billion agreement for 300 Boeing aircraft, and Mr. Xi met with US tech executives, including Apple’s Tim Cook and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

China Provided Iran With Satellite Images Used in Deadly Attack on American Troops, Report Says Ahead of Trump and Xi Meeting

China Provided Iran With Satellite Images Used in Deadly Attack on American Troops, Report Says Ahead of Trump and Xi Meeting

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