Citing an Arab official familiar with the intelligence, the British-based platform Middle East Eye reported on Monday that Chinese air defence equipment had been sent to Iran after it struck a truce with Israel last month.
One source told the platform that China – the biggest recipient of Iran’s oil exports – had received payment in oil shipments, but the report did not say how many surface-to-air missile systems Iran had received since the end of the fighting.
China’s embassy in Israel denied the report on Tuesday, telling the Hebrew-language newspaper Israel Hayom it “never exports weapons to countries engaged in warfare and maintains strict controls on the export of dual-use items”.
It added: “China firmly opposes the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, and continuously strengthens its enforcement capabilities regarding non-proliferation.”
China’s defence ministry has been asked for comment.
