China Plans to Deliver Air Defense Systems to Iran During Fragile Cease-Fire Deal: Report
China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran in the next few weeks, according to a report citing sources with knowledge of US intelligence.
The move would be “provocative,” according to CNN, considering China played a major role in brokering the fragile cease-fire deal between Iran and the US earlier this week.
Beijing is working to route shipments through third countries to hide the backroom trade — which involves shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems known as MANPADs, multiple US intelligence sources told CNN.
The weapons — which use heat-seeking guidance to lock onto an aircraft’s engine or exhaust — posed a major threat to the US military during the five-week war, with one nearly taking out a F/A-18 Super Hornet last week.
The F-15 fighter jet that was shot down over Iran last week was targeted by a “handheld shoulder missile, [a] heat-seeking missile,” Trump said Monday, though it’s not clear whether it had been provided by China. (Read more from “China Plans to Deliver Air Defense Systems to Iran During Fragile Cease-Fire Deal: Report” HERE)
