By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Azercosmos records two antennas belonging to Chinese satellite-services company Emposat at its Baku ground station: a 4.2-meter unit installed in 2021 and a 7.3-meter unit added in 2023. Emposat later appeared in research on Iran's reported acquisition of a Chinese observation satellite. A separate, unverified November allegation named the company in connection with images of four Azerbaijani airports.
China's military relationship with Iran
China and Iran included intelligence sharing in their January 2016 comprehensive strategic partnership statement. Article 16, published in Chinese by Beijing's Foreign Ministry, lists it alongside counterterrorism, military training, equipment and technology.
The governments signed a 25-year cooperation plan in March 2021. Its final text was not published; Beijing described the plan as a broad framework without specified contracts or investment targets. A February 2023 joint statement called for closer defense contacts, military exchanges and exercises.
Oil dominates the economic relationship. In March 2026, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, citing tanker-tracking estimates, put China's purchases at roughly 90 percent of Iran's oil exports. It also cited Chinese-origin components found in Iranian drones and noted Beijing's reluctance to assume formal defense obligations toward Tehran.
TEE-01B and the satellite services business
The Financial Times reported on April 15 that the Aerospace Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) acquired control of the Chinese-built TEE-01B Earth-observation satellite in late 2024 for about 250 million yuan ($36.6 million). Launched in June 2024, it can collect imagery at roughly 50-centimeter resolution. The newspaper examined leaked Iranian military documents and satellite tasking records concerning U.S. bases around Iranian strikes in March 2026.
Reuters could not independently verify the findings. An October 21 study by Florence Duveiller for the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) identified Chang Guang Satellite Technology as TEE-01B's manufacturer, Earth Eye as its declared owner and commercial intermediary, and Emposat as a ground-station services provider linked to the reported transaction. Ifri also examined MizarVision, which analyzes satellite imagery and other data to identify military equipment and activity.
Emposat denied knowing that Iran had used its ground stations. China's Foreign Ministry rejected the Financial Times report as untrue.
Emposat's Baku antennas
Azercosmos announced a commercial hosting agreement on August 3, 2023, for Emposat's 7.3-meter S/X-band antenna at Baku Teleport. The agency's 2021 annual report records the earlier 4.2-meter installation.
Emposat said the second antenna would increase its capacity to receive satellite payload data and manage ground and space resources for customers. Azercosmos offers telemetry, tracking and command, data reception, hosting and maintenance at the facility.
Beijing's defense business with Azerbaijan
China's defense contacts with Azerbaijan predate their comprehensive strategic partnership. In June 2024, Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov briefed a visiting Chinese military delegation on operational conditions along what his ministry called the conditional border with Armenia. Military training and technical cooperation were also discussed.
Azerbaijan's Defense Industry Ministry announced an Azersilah–Norinco cooperation contract in February 2025. Beijing and Baku signed a comprehensive strategic partnership two months later, covering security, sovereignty, territorial integrity and cooperation between security institutions. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry reported activities under the bilateral military cooperation plan in April 2026. President Ilham Aliyev confirmed Chinese military equipment purchases in July, with deliveries continuing; Hasanov visited China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation facilities in September.
The four-airport allegation
On November 5, Azerbaijani outlet 1news.az cited the Russian Telegram channel Kremlin Matryoshka in a claim that Iranian intelligence had ordered and received Emposat images of airports in Ganja, Fuzuli, Lachin and Nakhchivan. GunAz TV repeated the unverified account on November 9. Neither report supplied satellite tasking or delivery records.
Nakhchivan airport had been at the center of a separate dispute in March. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said a drone arriving from Iranian territory struck the terminal on March 5, while another fell near a school in Shakarabad. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied responsibility in a March 8 call with President Ilham Aliyev and promised an investigation. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the incident in a conversation with Aliyev.
Türkiye and Azerbaijan maintain close defense ties and share Middle Corridor transport connections carrying Chinese trade toward European markets. Iran's ambassador to Armenia has proposed a rail link between Armenia and Iran through Nakhchivan.
China's declared intelligence cooperation with Tehran and growing defense trade with Baku frame a commercial link documented by Azerbaijan itself. Azercosmos hosted antennas belonging to Emposat, the Chinese company now appearing in research on Iran's access to observation satellites.
Sources: Azercosmos, China Foreign Ministry, Azerbaijan Presidency, Azerbaijan Defense Ministry, Azerbaijan Defense Industry Ministry, Financial Times, Reuters, French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, 1news.az, GunAz TV, Bosphorus News review and reporting.