Tehran obtained images of the Jordanian base before and after the attack, US officials say, without alleging direct involvement by Beijing
US officials have linked satellite imagery supplied to Iran by Chinese entities to an Iranian attack that killed three American troops at a base in Jordan, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
Tehran acquired high-resolution images of the installation both before and after the July attack, according to officials familiar with the incident. They described the findings as the strongest evidence yet that Chinese support for Iran during the war has had deadly consequences for American force
The officials declined to identify the suppliers and did not accuse the Chinese government of direct involvement.
The July 17 strike hit sleeping quarters at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in northeastern Jordan, killing three soldiers and wounding four others. It was one of three missile attacks on the installation within 24 hours.
Senior US officials raised the findings with Chinese counterparts, who rejected the allegations and demanded evidence, the Journal reported. China’s embassy in Washington did not answer the specific allegations, saying its cooperation with Iran complied with international law.
The findings could complicate relations ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned September 24 summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
British firms face boycotts in US if they implement Labour's new ban on trading with Israel's West Bank
An aerial view of a construction site of a new neighborhood in the Jewish settlement of Emmanuel in Samaria
British firms operating in the US face boycotts if they implement Labour's new ban on trading with Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria.
The UK government announced the trade ban on Tuesday.
The UK will ban imports of all goods from the settlements and bar companies from providing services for the settlements, including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising.
Activists in the US have now set up a whistleblower hotline in response, and have urged employees to report British companies which refuse to work with Israelis or Israel.
They warned that compliant companies could face reciprocal sanctions under American anti-boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) laws. This could prevent US states from working with any business found to be boycotting Israel or territories under its control.
Several US congressmen have also suggested that other British firms complying with UK sanction rules could face similar punishment.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the governor of Arkansas, posted on X: 'It's simple: boycotting the world's only Jewish state is anti-Semitism.
'Arkansas law makes clear that we won't do business with any company that deliberately chooses to engage in BDS activities. Period.'
Randy Fine, the Republican representative for Florida, said: 'As the British government considers forcing British companies to boycott portions of Israel, it should be aware that a Florida law that I passed as a member of the Legislature would ban any British company forced to comply from doing business with any state or local government in Florida.
'It would also end any British business participating in that boycott from doing any business in Florida if it needed any official interaction with state or local government to operate (permits, tax collection).
'Florida is one of Britain's largest trading partners. They should understand that their vanity project in support of Muslim terror could cost them billions of dollars.
'And for those who doubt the power of this policy, it was this same law that broke Airbnb's misguided effort to boycott portions of Israel in 2019.'
Mark Goldfeder, director of the National Jewish Advocacy Centre in the US, said: 'Britain has ordered its companies into a trap it never mapped.
'Many American states, Texas and Florida among them, bar public contracts with, and force pension divestment from, any company that limits commercial relations with Israelis or Israel.
'The words are in the statutes, and Austin and Tallahassee do not run their lists on Whitehall's definitions.'
Several US congressmen have also suggested that other British firms complying with UK sanction rules could face boycotts
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the governor of Arkansas, expressed her views on X
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar condemned the 'despicable' move. He said Israel would expel UK representatives from a joint military centre monitoring the Gaza ceasefire and end UK training of the Palestinian Authority's security forces in the West Bank.
In addition, Israel barred entry to a dozen British lawmakers and other UK citizens whom Sa'ar said were 'involved in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity.'
Under the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, settlement construction in Judea and Samaria — captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war — has surged.
Netanyahu's government views Judea and Samaria as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.
