China Sent Iran 1,300 Shipments of Missile and Drone Parts in 2026, US Intelligence Says Beijing Data Aided Fatal Base Strike

Since Iran and Israel's 12-day war in June 2025 gave way to a broader US-Israeli campaign against Tehran in 2026, China has kept supplying Iran's military with parts, according to Iranian customs data reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Around 1,300 shipments of "dual-use" components and chemical compounds reached Iran's Defense Ministry between January and June 2026, the Journal reported September 23.

The shipments included GPS tracking equipment, electric motors and aircraft-engine components, according to the customs records. Kate Koren, deputy director of the economics program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Journal some of the components are known to be used in Iran's Shahed drones. Many shipments were logged under Article 119 of Iran's customs code, which exempts defense imports from tariffs.

One shipment landed in Tehran the same day a ceasefire took effect between the US and Iran, carrying electronics for the Defense Ministry. ZeroHedge, citing the Journal, dated that truce to April. Yalibnan, citing the same Journal report, put the ceasefire on June 17. Both outlets are drawing on identical customs data, and the discrepancy doesn't change the underlying fact: a Chinese cargo shipment tied to Iran's military arrived in Tehran on the exact day fighting was supposed to stop. Two days later, more than a dozen additional shipments worth over $6 million in drone-capable parts followed, per the Journal's reporting.

Mahan Air, an Iranian carrier already under US sanctions for allegedly ferrying cash, weapons and personnel for Tehran, ramped up its China routes during this stretch. Flight-tracking data cited by the Journal showed the airline going from four weekly flights between Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and Tehran in early March to roughly 27 a week by late April.

Intelligence Links China Data to a Deadly Strike

CNN reported, citing four sources familiar with recent American intelligence assessments, that Chinese groups have provided satellite imagery and geospatial support that helped Iran hit US military bases and threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz with a precision US officials believe exceeded Iran's own capabilities. That support, CNN reported, helped enable the July 17 strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan that killed three American service members.

In the Strait, CNN reported Iran has used the Chinese-sourced imagery to track US naval escorts and launch heatseeking drones at a specific navigational point one US official called a "knuckle," timing large drone swarms to latch onto ships' heat signatures rather than relying on precision guidance. During one recent escort operation described to CNN, US forces intercepted more than a dozen Iranian missiles and shot down nearly 20 drones.

US officials told CNN it remains unclear whether Beijing's government has ordered this support or is simply tolerating it, and they disagree internally on how much Beijing is helping. One source told CNN that recent reporting suggests China would actually prefer the Strait disruptions, which have pushed up global oil prices, to stop. A government deliberately arming a proxy to disrupt a chokepoint that also threatens its own oil-price stability presents a less clean story than a coordinated state campaign. Beijing, for its part, has repeatedly denied supplying weapons or targeting imagery to Iran, telling the Journal it "strictly controls exports of dual-use goods" and rejects what it calls illegitimate unilateral US sanctions.

Trump's China Balancing Act

The Journal reported that President Trump has been reluctant to confront Xi Jinping over the Iran shipments, with people familiar with internal discussions saying Trump prioritized maintaining a good relationship with Xi. If Chinese components and satellite data are helping kill American troops, downplaying it to protect a diplomatic relationship warrants scrutiny regardless of who occupies the Oval Office.

Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin pressed that point in a letter to Trump, seen by the Journal, urging him to raise China's Iran ties directly with Xi. "There is now a large and growing body of evidence that Chinese companies are helping Iran target and kill American troops, keep Iran's drone and missile programs alive, and sustain Iran's economy," Slotkin wrote.

A Treasury Department spokesperson told the Journal the administration "has repeatedly targeted malign Iran-related activity that exploits or transits China's jurisdiction and will continue to do so." Reuters has separately reported that Iran is using a barter-like mechanism, trading oil for credits toward Chinese imports including military gear, to route around sanctions. Reuters also reported in July that Iran expected a first shipment of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers worth $60 to 70 million.

Tehran's Warning

Against this backdrop, IRGC spokesman Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi said this week that Iran is "prepared for a prolonged war" and warned of new weapons "with new capabilities" if the US or Israel strikes again, saying "the world will be surprised."

No new US sanctions specifically tied to this latest 1,300-shipment disclosure have been announced. Whether Trump raises China's Iran pipeline directly with Xi, and whether Treasury moves beyond its existing sanctions list of Chinese and Hong Kong entities, remains an open question with American lives already on the line in Jordan and the Strait of Hormuz.