Iran used a Chinese spy satellite to target US bases
Summary
An FT investigation based on leaked documents shows Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) secretly bought a Chinese-built spy satellite called TEE-01B for ~$36.6mn in late 2024 and used it in March 2026 to photograph US bases before and after attacking them. The 0.5-metre-resolution satellite — ten times sharper than Iran's previous best — monitored at least nine US military sites across Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Djibouti and Oman.
Delfineo's Take
The key innovation isn't the satellite itself — it's the 'in-orbit delivery' export model. China launches the satellite, then hands control to the foreign buyer once it's already in space, with ground stations kept in China. This means Iran's surveillance capability cannot be knocked out by Israeli strikes on Iranian ground infrastructure. For investors, the read-across is that the civil/military line in Chinese commercial space is effectively fictional, and US export controls will tighten further across the entire Chinese satellite value chain.