Iran acquired a satellite from China in late 2024, which it has used this year to monitor US military bases across the Middle East, according to a person with knowledge of the satellite. Some of the targets that were monitored were later attacked by Iran. The British media was the first to report the existence of this satellite.
The device, named TEE-01B, took pictures of Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base for several days in mid-March, the person said. President Donald Trump wrote in a post on ‘Truth Social’ on March 14 that five planes based at the Saudi base were attacked by Iran, but they did not suffer much damage. No one died in this attack.
The satellite also captured images of Jordan’s Muwaffak al-Salti Air Base, as well as nearby bases in Iraq’s Erbil Airport and Bahrain, according to the person with knowledge of the satellite. According to Iranian state media, in mid-March the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked the Muaffaq al-Salti base and other US bases in Manama and Erbil with missiles and drones.
Trying to link China with bad intentions?
According to a statement given to Reuters, China’s Foreign Ministry has described this report as false. “Recently, some forces have been trying to spread rumors and link them to China with bad intentions,” it said in a statement sent to Reuters. The statement further said, “China strongly opposes any action that has any ulterior motive.”