Report: Chinese Components in Iranian Drones Raise Dual-Use Tech Concerns

China is believed to be assisting Iran with intelligence on the US military deployment in the Gulf and also supplying surveillance systems while enabling Tehran to expand its weapons capabilities, a report said on Wednesday.

"China supplying the theocratic Islamic regime in Iran with weapons and technology is no secret, but the options before Beijing are also limited by the need for China to have a friendly posture with other Gulf countries and also to keep US President Donald Trump in good humour before his scheduled summit meeting with President Xi Jinping of China," a report in Asia News Post detailed.

"Beijing cannot afford to sour relations with Gulf nations such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, which have been hit by missiles launched by Iran in the course of the current war - missiles of Chinese origin or built with technology transferred from China," it added.

Citing US intelligence reports, the report said China is preparing to supply new air defence systems to Iran within the coming weeks. It added that Iran may be using the current ceasefire period to replenish certain weapons systems with the support of key foreign partners.

"Now if Beijing backs out, its foothold will weaken in Iran, which China can ill afford, as Iran is its main base to counter US influence in the Middle East. There are reports that Beijing is working out routes for the shipments through third countries to mask the true origin of consignments of weapons," the report noted.

"Among the systems Beijing is reported to be preparing to transfer are shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile systems known as MANPADs (Man Portable Air Defence Systems), which can pose a threat to low-flying US military aircraft. Shoulder-fired and easy to operate, these launchers emit heat-seeking fire-and-forget missiles," it mentioned.

Notably, the US President has not ruled out the possibility of China supplying such missiles to Iran.

"If China does that, China will have big problems," the Asian News post quoted Trump as saying while addressing reporters on questions of these missiles.

According to the report, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the army of Iran, has also been granted access to a network of commercial ground stations run by a Beijing-based satellite services provider with operations across Asia. The satellite captured images of air bases and other targets across the Middle Eastern countries which were struck by Iranian missile strikes, including Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, where a stationed American aircraft suffered damage.

This satellite has also reportedly tracked activities around Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, sites near the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, and Erbil Airport in Iraq--- locations the IRGC has claimed were targeted during its operations.

"Western intelligence assessment is that no Chinese company could give Iran such satellite access without somebody in the administration giving it the go-ahead. The Chinese authorities have been helping the Iranians with intelligence but trying to keep the hand of the government hidden," the report noted.

- IANS