Iran used Chinese satellite to target US bases before attack that took out Air Force planes
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Iran secretly got its hands on a Chinese spy satellite to target American bases in the Middle East during the war, leaked military documents revealed.
Following its launch to space in 2024, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had acquired Beijing’s TEE-01B satellite, tasking it to monitor key US military sites in the region, the Financial Times reported.
Time-stamped records show some of the images were taken last month before and after Iranian drone and missile attacks on those very bases.
The logs indicate that the satellite, which was built by the Earth Eye Chinese company, had taken images of the Prince Sultan Air Base, in Saudi Arabia, on March 13, 14, and 15.
It was during that same timespan that Iran struck the American base, damaging five US Air Force refueling planes.
“This satellite is clearly being used for military purposes, as it is being run by the IRGC’s Aerospace Force and not Iran’s civilian space program,” Nicole Grajewski, an expert on Iran at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, told the FT.
“Iran really needs this foreign-provided capability during this war, as it allows the IRGC to identify targets ahead of time and check the success of its strikes,” she added.
The TEE-01B, which launched on June, 6, 2024, was intended to be used for agriculture, emergency management and municipal transportation purposes, according to Earth Eye Co.’s website.
The IRGC, however, took control over the satellite in September 2024 after forking over about $36 million, the FT reported.
Earthy Eye confirmed that it carried out an “in-orbit” transfer of the satellite to a member of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a coalition that Iran joined back in 2021.
Under the agreement, the IRGC receives access to ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing-based satellite control and data services provider with networks extending across Asia and Latin America.
Iran’s use of the Chinese spy satellite comes as concerns grow over China’s willingness to help Iran, with Beijing reportedly preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Tehran in the coming weeks.
Trump said Wednesday that China has agreed not to arm Tehran, saying that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reached an understanding prior to their summit scheduled next month.
“They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
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And China is oil dependent.
It got much of its oil from Iran .... until ... Trump put a successful blockade on the strait of Hormuz.
It's amusing watching the countries who claim to believe Ukraine is an existential fight and who claim to revere "international law" twist themselves into pretzels pushing Chinese propaganda. China has not had a good few months, at all. Venezuela, Iran, the US agreement with Indonesia....
Nope, they have lost a lot of what they invested in rogue regimes that were of interest to them. I think that the unique ways that Iran tried to fight back in this war may also be of concern to them. Can you imagine Taiwan being armed with drones & mines with the likes of a US Naval Carrier Strike force sitting to the east of Taiwan? I'm sure China's leaders are thinking about it as they seek a solution to their current oil needs.
True enough but it got far more from Trump's pals in Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Thank you.
I'll leave the Trump slander for those now logging in to fool the boss as I like to say.
Another quiet morning?
Correct, Canada’s bestest buddy is funding the Russian war machine and supplying the Russian army. All those with Ukrainian flag waivers must be so proud.
Canada's best buddies are NATO and those strange fellows swimming in the great downunder. Y'all used to be a bestie but president Muggles tossed out the baby with the bathwater. Bitch at him for turning your once great nation into a ranting pissenlit.
But China is not dependent on Iranian oil. That's the problem with trying to shift blame off Trump and on to China. Iran supplies ~12% of China's oil. The other Gulf states supply ~40% of China's oil. China could shift to Venezuelan oil and bypass Iran altogether.
China's interest in Iran doesn't really have much to do with oil or petrochemicals.
To (mis)quote many: "He may be a bastard but he's our bastard."
I still prefer:
“Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus”
... and Caesar's fate was sealed with a score of slashes. Expect Brutus to make an appearance shortly after November ... Et tutti frutus!
Also known as ancient resistance & lawfare.
expect Brutus to make an appearance shortly after November
But, as the story goes, he was undermined by the reading of Caesar's will
Today we might call it safety, security and a great economy.
All of which Trump got the old fashioned way, he inherited it.
Lawfare ... is so, so 'existential'. @!@
Caesar was assassinated because he was a dictator.
No, it was a power grab .... that failed
Wrong again.
Trump is the threat to the status quo, which had become very radical.
The resistance goes on, but even without Caesar, we now have a few Marc Antonys' to carry on.
I had no idea Usha was born in Egypt. There will be asps aplenty.
COPILOT
Caesar was assassinated because he had become a dictator with unprecedented, lifelong power , and many senators believed he was destroying the Roman Republic.
🧩 What specifically about his dictatorship led to the assassination?
1. He was appointed dictator perpetuo (“dictator in perpetuity”). This was an extraordinary, unconstitutional concentration of power in one man. Many senators saw this as the end of republican government.
2. He bypassed traditional republican institutions. Caesar increasingly ignored the Senate, controlled the treasury, and personally rewarded soldiers — actions that made him appear more like a monarch than a magistrate . Rumors spread that he intended to declare himself king.
3. Senators feared the collapse of the Republic. The conspirators — calling themselves the Liberators — believed killing Caesar was necessary to prevent tyranny and restore the Republic. They justified the assassination as a defense of liberty.
4. His honors and behavior fueled suspicion. Caesar accepted numerous honors, sat on a gold-and-ivory throne, and even failed to rise to greet senators — gestures interpreted as arrogance and monarchical ambition.
🧭 So was dictatorship the reason?
Yes — his dictatorship was the core reason. While personal rivalries and political tensions played roles, the central motive was the belief that Caesar’s lifelong dictatorship threatened the Republic’s survival. The conspirators saw assassination as the only way to stop a slide into monarchy.
Microsoft Copilot: Your AI companion
In other words you endorse a dictatorship. That seems to be the direction a lot of right wingers are going.
Vic probably knows all this but has alterior motives one of which is to waste your time looking it up. In a kinder time it was called trolling.
Well breakfast awaits.
Later ...