Iran has secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite, providing the regime with enhanced capabilities to monitor United States military bases across the Middle East during recent regional conflicts.
According to reports from the Operative Information Center-OMM, citing leaked Iranian military documents published by the Financial Times, the surveillance targeted strategic locations in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Djibouti, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. The monitoring focused specifically on U.S. military installations and critical infrastructure assets.
The satellite, identified as the TEE-01B, was reportedly acquired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Forces in late 2024 following its launch from China. Nicole Grajewski, an Iran expert at Sciences Po University, told the Financial Times that the device is clearly intended for military operations. "This satellite is explicitly used for military purposes, as it is managed by the IRGC Aerospace Forces rather than Iran's civilian space program," Grajewski noted.
Leaked data, including time-stamped coordinate lists, satellite imagery, and orbital analyses, indicate that Iranian commanders utilized the TEE-01B to track key U.S. military movements. Experts suggest that such capabilities are vital for the IRGC to identify potential targets and conduct post-strike assessments. This development comes amid heightened regional tensions and underscores the growing military-technological cooperation between Tehran and Beijing, which has significant implications for the security of international partners and the stability of the Middle East.
