FPI / February 18, 2026
By Richard Fisher
For decades China’s economic and military technology support has allowed Iran’s radical Mullah regime to build up proxies including Hamas, Hizbullah, and the Houthis, to wage war against Israel, and to invest great capital to build nuclear weapons, while Chinese surveillance technology has enabled the Iranian regime to defeat successive nationwide popular protests.
Before the intervention of Israel’s 12-day (June 13-24, 2025) war and the Trump Administration’s June 21, 2025 Midnight Hammer strikes against Iranian nuclear weapon development facilities, Iran was judged to be on the cusp of an initial nuclear weapons capability.
But now the Trump Administration is conducting a massive military buildup in the Middle East to backstop its diplomacy aimed at forcing Iran to end its nuclear weapons and missile weapons programs — though it would also be pleased if the Iranian people finally ended the theocratic dictatorship.
Reports indicate that the U.S. has deployed 13 destroyers to the Middle East capable of launching about 500 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs), and will soon have two U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier battle groups near Iran, with over 100 combat aircraft in addition to 66 U.S. Air Force combat aircraft deployed to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and 90 more combat aircraft available from bases in Great Britain.
Following the U.S. strikes against Iran, and since the current U.S. buildup in the Middle East, there have been many unsourced/unconfirmed reports, especially on the “X” platform, that China is providing Iran with air defense missiles or even combat aircraft.
But in reality, it is apparent that China is supporting Iran’s military capabilities that include 1,000 to 2,000 medium- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles which could be launched at U.S. forces in the region, and against Israel.
To target its missiles, Iran may have access to the surveillance data provided by a large number of People’s Liberation Army Aerospace Force-controlled intelligence satellites.
In a February 2 posting on “X,” analyst “Shivan Mahandrarajah,” summarizing his earlier larger September 2025 analysis, stated:
“Iran taps into China’s advanced satellite network, which delivers persistent (24/7), all-weather, day-and-night imaging, high-resolution video, SIGINT [Signals Intelligence], and real-time ELINT [Electronic Intelligence] on US Navy targets. Yaogan ELINT triplets deliver precise global and regional geolocation of ships through triangulation of electronic emissions, while Jilin [optical/radar surveillance] clusters ensure continuous high-quality visuals. Fusion of Chinese space-based ISR and Iranian missiles creates a real-time kill chain targeting naval traffic in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Arabian Sea.”
There is a compelling logic that in addition to its other means of support, that China would also be enabling Iranian military capabilities by providing access to the growing Chinese space surveillance architecture.
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