Israeli and U.S. officials have pointed to missile components, satellite imagery, and dual-use technologies tied to Chinese entities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said China has provided Iran with some military support—including components for missile manufacturing—adding new weight to long-running U.S. and Israeli concerns that Beijing-linked entities are supporting Tehran’s warfighting capabilities through dual-use technologies, industrial materials, satellite services, and covert procurement networks.
In a May 10 interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Netanyahu said China had provided Iran with “a certain amount of support” and “particular components of missile manufacturing,” when asked whether Beijing was providing “materially valuable military support” to Iran.
“But I can’t say more than that,” Netanyahu added.
The remarks came days after the U.S. State Department sanctioned several China-based entities accused of supplying satellite imagery that enabled Iranian strikes against U.S. forces during Operation Epic Fury.
Earlier, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals for their roles in helping Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) procure ballistic missile propellant ingredients.
Together, the comments and sanctions are drawing renewed attention to what analysts describe as a broader strategy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): avoiding overt military alignment with Iran while quietly helping sustain Tehran’s military-industrial base.
“The design of Iran’s entire network of underground tunnels was executed by the military engineering division of the CCP’s military,” Yuan Hongbing, a Chinese legal scholar and political writer living in exile in Australia, told The Epoch Times.
“Furthermore, the critical high-tech components for Iran’s missiles and drones were all supplied by the CCP.”
Yuan said that Beijing has sought to play a behind-the-scenes role while outwardly portraying itself as a “champion of peace.”
Netanyahu Raises Concerns Over CCP Support
In the CBS interview, Netanyahu suggested Beijing should reconsider whether strengthening Tehran truly serves its interests.
“Does it really want to have Iran controlling the waterways that supply the energy that China needs?” Netanyahu said. “Would it not prefer to have open waterways that are not subjected to this kind of violent blackmail?”
China depends heavily on Middle Eastern energy imports, much of which transits through the Strait of Hormuz.
Netanyahu also warned against empowering what he described as “a fanatic regime with nuclear weapons” committed to exporting Islamist revolution.
His comments follow earlier remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who hinted in April that Beijing might be helping Iran replenish military supplies during a ceasefire.
“We caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it, which wasn’t very nice—a gift from China, perhaps,” Trump told CNBC on April 21, adding that Iran had “done a little bit of restocking” during the pause in hostilities.
While Trump did not specify the cargo, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley linked the vessel to “chemical shipments for missiles.”
Haley, now with conservative think tank Hudson Institute, said the shipment was another reminder that China helps “prop up Iran’s regime.”
China denied involvement. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun rejected what he called “false association and speculation” surrounding the intercepted Iranian-flagged vessel.
By Tom Ozimek
