An Iranian strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on July 17 ultimately killed three American soldiers and injured four others. U.S. officials now say Iran had obtained high-resolution images of the base from Chinese entities and that the imagery was connected to the attack. The publicly available reporting does not establish that China’s government authorized or knowingly assisted the strike.
According to The Daily Caller, unnamed officials called this the strongest proof of Chinese involvement in the conflict. They did not say the Chinese government ordered the hit. They also did not name the specific companies that sold the images. But the result was clear. Four other soldiers were injured in the blast. The US flagged these findings to Chinese leaders, per The Daily Caller. Beijing denied the claims and asked for proof.
President Donald Trump spoke about the issue while flying on Air Force One. He was asked about the Wall Street Journal report on the satellite images. His response was blunt and direct. He said, “They basically do what we do.” When reporters pressed him on whether China spies on the US, he did not back down. Trump said, “You know what they say? That China spies on us. I say you’re right, and we spy on them, too.”
This comment comes right before a major meeting. A summit with Trump is set for Sept. 24 in Washington, which Xi Jinping will attend. The Daily Caller noted that China threatened to cancel this meeting if the US approves more arms sales to Taiwan. Trump told reporters that Xi has “behaved reasonably well” and that “we behave reasonably well.” The timing is tight. The attack happened in July. The summit is set for late September.
The US has already acted on similar intel. In May 2026, the government sanctioned multiple people and groups in China and the Middle East. The Daily Caller reported these sanctions were for allegedly helping Iran get sensitive satellite data. This is not the first time the US has tried to block this tech. Yet, the images still got through.
The officials described the imagery support as the clearest evidence to date that Chinese help had deadly consequences for American forces. Beijing faced no accusations from the US regarding direct involvement in the attack. But the link between the images and the missile strike is now public. The question is what happens next.
