A U.S. congressional commission reported that China has supplied Iran with offensive drones and rocket‑fuel components and that Tehran likely uses China’s BeiDou satellite navigation for drone and missile operations across West Asia. The US–China Economic and Security Review Commission released a “China–Iran Fact Sheet” detailing the findings.
The commission says that in the days before U.S. and Israeli strikes in February 2026, China engaged in direct arms transfers to Iran, including offensive unmanned aerial systems and a near‑finalized deal for anti‑ship cruise missiles (delivery date not yet agreed). The report also identifies shipments of rocket‑fuel precursors: around March 2, 2026, two state‑owned Iranian vessels departed China’s Gaolan Port bound for Iran and are believed to have carried sodium perchlorate, a precursor for solid rocket fuel. The fact sheet notes an earlier shipment in January 2025 of roughly 1,000 tonnes of sodium perchlorate.
The commission points out that China granted Iran full military access to the BeiDou satellite navigation system in 2021, and it considers it plausible that Iran relies on BeiDou for targeting and guidance in drone and missile strikes throughout the Middle East. While Beijing previously avoided formal defense commitments to Tehran, the report says recent transfers and agreements indicate a shift toward a less restrained approach to providing kinetic military capabilities.
Historically, China was a major conventional arms supplier to Iran in the 1980s but curtailed transfers after United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 in 2015. In recent years, cooperation between China and Iran has moved toward dual‑use and defense‑relevant technologies that support missile and drone development. Chinese components — including sensors, voltage converters, and semiconductors — have been identified in Iranian drones used by proxy groups and in systems exported from Iran to Russia.
The fact sheet also highlights expanding military ties through multilateral forums: China and Iran have deepened cooperation via the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS, and Iran hosted an SCO military exercise in December 2025.
The US–China Economic and Security Review Commission is a legislative branch body established by Congress to monitor and report on the national‑security implications of the U.S.–China economic relationship.
