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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) used a United Arab Emirates-based procurement network to obtain advanced Chinese satellite communications equipment linked to its drone program, the Financial Times (FT) reported.
The publication cited leaked commercial contracts, shipping records, and satellite imagery analysis.
According to the report, the procurement involved Telesun, a company based in the emirate of Ras al Khaimah, which allegedly arranged the shipment of approximately 1.8 metric tons of Chinese-made satellite antenna equipment from Shanghai to Iran through Dubai’s Jebel Ali port in late 2025.
The FT reported that shipping documents identified the cargo as “antenna and accessories,” consisting of six cases delivered to Iranian telecommunications company Ertebatat Faragostar Kish (EFK).
The equipment reportedly included a 4.5-meter motorized satellite antenna manufactured by the Chinese company StarWin.
According to the newspaper, the equipment was procured by Telesun on behalf of EFK for a project involving Saman Industrial Group, an Iranian company sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2023.
Washington has described Saman as a commercial front company for the Aerospace Force Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization, the research and development arm linked to the IRGC Aerospace Force’s ballistic missile, electronic warfare, and drone programs.
The FT reported that the shipment was ultimately transported to Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas after being transferred from a Chinese container vessel to the Iranian ship Rama III.
According to the newspaper, analysis of shipping records and satellite imagery indicated that the Iranian vessel broadcast false navigation signals during the voyage, potentially concealing its movement toward Iranian waters.
The report said the case illustrated how the IRGC continued relying on commercial networks in the UAE to acquire strategically sensitive communications technology despite Western sanctions targeting its procurement infrastructure.
Telesun, which describes itself as a UAE-based supplier of satellite communications systems across the Middle East and North Africa, did not respond to FT requests for comment, according to the report.
The UAE Foreign Ministry and Iran’s embassy in London also did not respond to inquiries, the newspaper said.
The FT also noted that Blue Calm Marine Services, identified as the Iranian shipping agent involved in the shipment, was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 over allegations that it facilitated transfers linked to Iran’s missile-related activities.
The report follows an earlier FT investigation alleging that the IRGC Aerospace Force had obtained a satellite launched by a Chinese company, Earth Eye, for monitoring U.S. military facilities and Gulf infrastructure.
The developments come amid heightened regional tensions following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
Tehran responded with strikes targeting Israel and U.S. allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but negotiations in Islamabad failed to secure a lasting agreement.
US President Donald Trump later extended the truce indefinitely while maintaining a blockade on vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports through the strategic waterway.
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