Iran is pursuing partnerships with two Chinese satellite companies as it seeks to expand its capability for remote surveillance and intelligence gathering, The Washington Post reported.
The outreach has included multiple exchanges of delegations in recent months between Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Chinese companies, both of which manufacture and operate remote-sensing satellites with sophisticated cameras, according to US, European and Middle Eastern officials privy to intelligence reports describing the meetings, the newspaper said.
Any deal that emerges could allow Iran to dramatically improve its ability to spy on US and Israeli military installations, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.
A confidential assessment seen by The Washington Post warns that a deal with China could supply Iran with enhanced targeting capability for its arsenal of ballistic missiles as well as early warning systems to detect impending attacks. Iran might then be in a position to supply satellite-derived intelligence to allies such as Yemen’s Houthis or to Syrian and Iraqi militias. Iran has previously provided such groups with satellite imagery purchased from China, the document said.
While there were no reports of a formal agreement yet, the assessment described a flourishing relationship between Tehran and one of the companies, Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., with several exchanges of delegations and long stays by IRGC operatives and officials in China.
Chang Guang, based in Changchun in China’s northeastern Jilin province, makes small, low-cost “cubesat” satellites with optical equipment still capable of producing images with a resolution as fine as 30 centimeters.
Iranian officials also were seeking a business arrangement with the Beijing-based MinoSpace Technology Co., which makes the Taijing-series remote sensing satellites, and participated in an exchange of delegations with it, the assessment said.
