China has systematically expanded its strategic partnership with Iran, leveraging economic agreements and dual-use technology transfers to enhance Tehran’s ballistic missile and space launch vehicle (SLV) capabilities. China’s activities have contributed to the deaths of scores of civilians across the Middle East during the conflict that began in late February 2026, analysts contend.
China and Iran’s military cooperation, rooted in their 2021 Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement, intensified in the year preceding United States-Israeli military operations against Iran that commenced in February 2026, significantly shaping the regional security environment, analysts said.
U.S. experts are determining whether fragments from Iranian missiles recently launched at Israel and toward several Gulf states indicate that the weapons were manufactured with Chinese technology and components.
Central to recent developments are China’s provision of dual-use materials and expertise critical to solid-fuel missile production. Solid rocket motors — offering faster launch times, improved survivability and greater storage stability — underpin Iran’s medium-range ballistic missiles and emerging SLV systems. Chinese firms have reportedly exported large volumes of precursor chemicals, including ammonium perchlorate, to Iranian entities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which oversees Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and supports militant groups across the region. These transfers, often routed through complex logistics networks, circumvent international sanctions and export controls, raising persistent end-use verification concerns.
China’s support of Iran’s weapons development continues amid the conflict, analysts said.
In early March 2026, for example, China allowed two ships, owned by an Iranian company that the U.S. says supplied material to Tehran’s ballistic missile program, to depart for Iran from a chemical-storage port on China’s southeastern coast. The vessel likely was carrying sodium perchlorate, a key precursor for solid rocket fuel, The Washington Post newspaper reported.
“With missiles and drones raining down on [Gulf] states, any show of support like this towards Iran risks souring China’s relations with a number of [Gulf] countries,” Grant Rumley, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the newspaper.
Beyond raw materials, China’s support to the Iranian regime has included advanced composites, precision machine tools and guidance components such as gyroscopes and accelerometers. Such technology significantly improves missile accuracy and reliability while lowering barriers to long-range strike capabilities. Technical assistance in propulsion systems and payload integration further accelerates Iran’s weapons development.
China also likely provided Iran access to its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, which provides worldwide positioning and timing services, to target Israel and U.S. military assets in the Middle East, intelligence analysts said. Iran’s targeting in the current conflict is much more accurate than in its 12-day war against Israel in June 2025, the Al Jazeera news network reported.
Parallel to these transfers, Iran has pursued direct procurement of advanced Chinese weapons systems. Notably, Tehran has sought supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles capable of extending its anti-access/area-denial posture in critical waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz.
Days before the conflict erupted in February, Iran was nearing a deal to buy Chinese‑made CM‑302 missiles, which one analyst called a game changer, the Reuters news agency reported. “These missiles are very difficult to intercept,” said Danny Citrinowicz, a senior Iran researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.
Logistics networks form the backbone of China-Iran collaboration. Chinese shipping firms and intermediaries use transshipment hubs, shell companies and false documents to obscure the movement of sensitive materials. Incidents such as the deadly 2025 explosion at an Iranian port near Bandar Abbas — reportedly involving missile-related components from China — highlight the scale and risk of these clandestine supply chains.
Iran’s space program provides additional cover for military advancement. While publicly framed as civilian, SLV development shares key technologies with intercontinental ballistic missile systems, including propulsion, staging and guidance. Tehran’s recent launches demonstrate progress in these areas, reinforcing concerns over dual-use applications. After U.S. strikes in 2025 targeting Iran’s missile infrastructure, the regime reconstituted critical production capabilities, reflecting external support.
China’s support has advanced Iran’s missile and SLV capabilities in an attempt to alter the strategic balance in the Middle East, with serious implications for the Indo-Pacific that include civilian deaths.