China is preparing to send weapons to Iran, according to US intelligence

Amid the ongoing war situation in the Middle East and the current "half-baked" US-Israeli-Iran ceasefire, US intelligence agencies have received indications that Iran is using the current ceasefire to bolster its military power. There are also indications that China is helping him. According to three people familiar with the latest intelligence assessment, U.S. intelligence indicates that China is preparing to deliver a new air defense system to Iran in the next few weeks. The move would be seen as a provocative move when Beijing said earlier this week that it had helped broker a fragile ceasefire agreement preventing war between Iran and the United States. President Donald Trump is also scheduled to visit China early next month for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Two sources told CNN that there are indications that Beijing is working to send shipments through third countries to conceal the true source of these weapons. What weapons are being sent? China is preparing to send 'MANPADS' to Iran. Sources said that the systems that China is preparing to transfer are shoulder-to-shoulder anti-air missile systems, known as 'MANPADS'. These missiles posed an asymmetric threat to low-altitude U.S. military aircraft during the five-week war, and could pose a similar threat again if the ceasefire was broken. Impact: These missiles can be extremely dangerous to U.S. military aircraft flying at low altitudes. Last week, Iran shot down an American F-15 fighter jet. According to Trump, it may have been shot down by a similar missile, although it has not been confirmed whether it was Chinese-made or not. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said, "China has never provided weapons to any side of the conflict; The information in question is untrue." "As a responsible large country, China consistently fulfills its international obligations. We urge the U.S. side to refrain from making baseless allegations, malicious engagement, and sensationalism; Earlier this week, an embassy spokesperson told CNN that Beijing has been "working to bring about a ceasefire and help end the conflict since the U.S.-Israel-Iran war began." Trump is expected to meet with Xi Jinping in Beijing next month. And the White House said on Wednesday that high-level talks between the US and China took place earlier this week when Iran ceasefire talks were underway. "China sees no real strategic value in getting directly into this conflict and defending Iran against the US and Israel, because they know it will be invincible," said a source familiar with the intelligence briefings. Instead, Beijing is trying to establish itself as a consistent ally of Iran — because it is heavily dependent on Iranian oil — while remaining neutral from the outside so that it can deny its involvement once the war is over. Sources said the Chinese side may also argue that the air defense systems are defensive rather than aggressive in nature, which distinguishes their support from Russia's. According to a CNN report, Moscow has been providing support to the Iranian regime throughout the war in the form of intelligence sharing, which has helped Iran actively target U.S. troops and assets in the Middle East. Iran has long had military and economic ties with both China and Russia. Iran has helped Russia extensively in its war on Ukraine by supplying 'Shahed' drones and also sells large quantities of its banned oil to China.