WSJ: China's Satellites Guided Iran's Missiles to Strike U.S. Base in Jordan Amid Beijing's Denials

The Wall Street Journal reported that Tehran obtained satellite images from China of a U.S. base in Jordan targeted by missiles, killing American soldiers, according to U.S. officials, amid Beijing's denial of these claims.

As the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping approaches, Beijing denies any role in providing these images to Tehran, after U.S. officials stated Iran used high-resolution images from Chinese satellites to carry out a missile attack on the "Mawqef Al-Salti" air base in Jordan on July 17.

Notably, the attack reportedly killed three American soldiers according to official U.S. data, and Washington views this development as "the clearest evidence of the deadly consequences of China's support for Tehran," especially following repeated warnings and sanctions imposed by the U.S. administration in May against Chinese companies linked to supplying such imagery.

In response, Beijing denied direct government involvement, demanded evidence, and accused certain parties of attempting to drag China into the conflict. This revelation has sparked tension between the two countries ahead of the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting on September 24.

With Trump seeking to maintain a good relationship with his Chinese counterpart, his administration aims to avoid public confrontations that could disrupt the summit.

Thus, U.S. officials in public statements downplayed the significance of Chinese assistance, affirming it did not alter the course of the conflict, despite growing internal security concerns that Chinese technology is enhancing Iran's ability to target U.S. forces in the Middle East.

Within three days of the July attack, Iran released high-resolution images showing damage across three separate sections of the Jordanian base.

The Wall Street Journal said its analysis of publicly available low-resolution satellite images showed damage to more than 20 facilities in those three areas.

Source: Wall Street Journal