Iran secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite in late 2024 that enabled it to target United States military bases across the Middle East during the recent war, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
The TEE-01B satellite — built and launched by Chinese company Earth Eye Co — was obtained by the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after being sent into orbit from China, the report said, citing leaked Iranian military documents.
Iranian commanders used the satellite to monitor major US military sites, the FT said, citing time-stamped coordinate lists, satellite imagery and orbital analysis. The images were captured in March, before and after drone and missile strikes on those locations.
As part of the arrangement, the IRGC was granted access to commercial ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing-based satellite control and data services provider with a global network.
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The TEE-01B satellite — built and launched by Chinese company Earth Eye Co — was obtained by the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after being sent into orbit from China, the report said, citing leaked Iranian military documents.
Iranian commanders used the satellite to monitor major US military sites, the FT said, citing time-stamped coordinate lists, satellite imagery and orbital analysis. The images were captured in March, before and after drone and missile strikes on those locations.
As part of the arrangement, the IRGC was granted access to commercial ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing-based satellite control and data services provider with a global network.
$PROM
$HIGH
$GLMR