Iran nears deal to buy supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles from China: Report
Iran is nearing a deal to purchase supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles from China, as the US weighs a fresh attack on the Islamic Republic, according to a report on Tuesday by Reuters.
The report said that negotiations between China and Iran commenced two years ago, but have picked up pace since June, when the US joined Israel’s war on Iran to launch strikes on three nuclear facilities.
The armaments under discussion are CM‑302 missiles with a range of about 290 kilometres and the capability of evading shipborne defences.
The Trump administration has conducted a massive buildup of US forces in the region even as it continues to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear programme. It has dispatched warships to the Middle East as part of the increase.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is already operating in the Arabian Sea. Meanwhile, the USS Gerald Ford is in the Eastern Mediterranean.
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Middle East Eye was the first to reveal that Iran and China were deepening their defence ties in the wake of the US’s attack.
MEE revealed in June that Iran had purchased Chinese surface-to-air missile batteries for defensive purposes.
Two Arab officials did not say how many surface-to-air missiles Iran had received at the time from China. However, one of the Arab officials said Iran was paying for the missiles with oil shipments.
China is the largest importer of Iranian oil, and the US Energy Information Administration suggested in a report in May that nearly 90 percent of Iran’s crude and condensate exports flow to Beijing.
Despite their historic ties, some diplomats in the region have speculated that China might be wary of becoming too involved in the conflict. Beijing and Washington are in a rapprochement of sorts after trade tensions.
On Tuesday, a US State Department official said that the US wants stable relations with China, but does not trust the country.
President Donald Trump is expected to attend a high-stakes summit in China with his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, in April.
China-Iran ties
China and Iran have defence ties going back decades. In the late 1980s, Iran received HY-2 Silkworm cruise missiles from China via North Korea when it was at war with Iraq.
The Islamic Republic used the missiles to attack Kuwait and strike a US-flagged oil tanker during the so-called tanker wars. In 2010, there were reports that Iran received HQ9 anti-aircraft missiles from China.
Iran’s military was battered by the joint US and Israeli attack in June. At the time, Israel noted that it had destroyed much of Iran’s air defences.
The Islamic Republic is already believed to use Russia's S-300, which is capable of engaging aircraft and UAVs in addition to providing some cruise and ballistic missile defence capability.
In addition, experts say it has older Chinese systems and locally produced batteries such as the Khordad series and the Bavar-373.
Providing anti-ship cruise missiles to Iran would be considered more escalatory, as they are offensive weapons. The obvious targets for CM‑302 missiles are US warships.
Iran has in the past threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow maritime channel that roughly 20 percent of seaborne oil and petroleum products pass through.
Last week, Iran temporarily closed the channel, which is just 33km at its narrowest point between the Musandam Peninsula in Oman and Iran.
Iran, China and Russia held joint military drills in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman, and the northern Indian Ocean last week.
The Strait of Hormuz was caught in the crossfire of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, when Iraqi forces attacked Iranian oil tankers near the waterway. While Iran threatened to close off Hormuz, it didn't follow through. The war initially led to a 25 percent drop in commercial shipping and a sharp oil price hike.
Launching seaborne attacks, however, could backfire on Iran and Beijing. Nearly 45 percent of China's total oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Although China and Iran have a rail link, seaborne crude still accounts for the vast majority of Iran’s exports to China.
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