Reuters could not determine how many missiles were involved in the potential deal, how much\u00a0Iran\u00a0had agreed to pay, or whether China would go through with the agreement now given heightened tensions in the region.<\/p>\n
\t \u201cIran\u00a0has military and security agreements with its allies, and now is an appropriate time to make use of these agreements,\u201d an\u00a0Iranian foreign ministry official told Reuters.<\/p>\n The Chinese delegation to the United Nations directed Reuters to seek comment from the Foreign Ministry in Beijing. The foreign and defense ministries did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n The White House did not directly address the negotiations between Iran and China over the missile system when asked by Reuters. US President Donald Trump has been clear that \u201ceither we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,\u201d a White House official said, referring to the current standoff with Iran.<\/p>\n The missiles would be among the most advanced military hardware to be transferred to Iran by China and defy a United Nations weapons embargo that was first imposed in 2006. The sanctions were suspended in 2015 as part of a nuclear deal with the US and allies, and then reimposed last September.<\/p>\n \t Naval threats<\/p>\n The potential sale would underscore deepening military ties between China and Iran at a moment of heightened regional tension, complicating US efforts to contain Iran\u2019s missile program and curb its nuclear activities. It would also signal China\u2019s growing willingness to assert itself in a region long dominated by US military might.<\/p>\n China, Iran and Russia hold annual joint naval exercises, and last year the US Treasury Department sanctioned several Chinese entities for supplying chemical precursors to Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for use in its ballistic missile program. China rejected those allegations, saying it was unaware of the cases cited in the sanctions and that it strictly enforces export controls on dual-use products.<\/p>\n While hosting\u00a0Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for a military parade in Beijing in September, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the\u00a0Iranian leader that \u201cChina supports\u00a0Iran\u00a0in safeguarding sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n China joined Russia and\u00a0Iran\u00a0in a joint letter on October 18 to say they believed the decision to reimpose sanctions was flawed.<\/p>\n \u201cIran has become a battlefield between the US\u201d on one side and Russia and China on the other, said one of the officials who was briefed by Iran\u2019s government on the missile negotiations.<\/p>\n \t The deal comes as the US assembles an armada<\/a> within striking distance of Iran, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group. The USS Gerald R. Ford and its escorts are also heading to the region. The two ships together can carry more than 5,000 personnel and 150 aircraft.<\/p>\n \u201cChina does not want to see a pro-Western regime in\u00a0Iran,\u201d said Citrinowicz, the Israeli specialist on\u00a0Iran. \u201cThat would be a threat to their interests. They are hoping that this regime will stay.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said on February 19 he was giving Iran 10 days to reach an agreement over its nuclear program or face military action. The US is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if Trump orders an attack, Reuters reported on February 13.<\/p>\n \t Depleted arsenal<\/p>\n The CM-302 purchase would be a significant improvement in an\u00a0Iranian arsenal depleted by last year\u2019s war, said Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.<\/p>\n China\u2019s state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) markets the CM-302 as the world\u2019s best anti-ship missile, capable of sinking an aircraft carrier or destroyer. The weapons system can be mounted on ships, aircraft or mobile ground vehicles. It can also take out targets on land.<\/p>\n CASIC did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Iran\u00a0is also in discussions to acquire Chinese surface\u2011to\u2011air missile systems, so-called MANPADS, anti\u2011ballistic weapons, and anti-satellite weapons, the six people said.<\/p>\n China was a major arms supplier to Iran in the 1980s, but large\u2011scale weapons transfers dwindled by the late 1990s under international pressure. In recent years, US officials have accused Chinese companies of providing missile-related materials to Iran but have not publicly accused it of supplying complete missile systems.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThis handout photo released by Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)\u2019s official website Sepanews on February 16, 2026, shows a boat firing a missile during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Gulf (SEPAH NEWS \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AFP__20260208__96KL7NQ__v2__HighRes__CorrectionUsIranDiplomacy-e1771582362458-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tA handout photograph released by the US Navy on February 8, 2026, shows observers including US lead negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as they watch flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in the Arabian Sea, on February 7, 2026. (Hannah Tross \/ US NAVY \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AFP__20260224__98Q73NQ__v1__HighRes__GreeceUsIranUsMilitaryConflict-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUS aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford is pictured docked at Souda Bay in the Greek Mediterranean island of Crete, on February 24, 2026. (Photo by Costas METAXAKIS \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26053297690485-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tPedestrians walk past a billboard depicting a US aircraft carrier with damaged fighter jets on its deck and a sign in Farsi and English reading, \u201cIf you sow the wind, you\u2019ll reap the whirlwind,\u201d at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n
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