The article seems to conflate two separate questions: did Chinese commercial firms sell Iran a capable imaging satellite/access (clearly yes), and did the Chinese state knowingly facilitate a military transaction with a sanctioned country (plausible, but the evidence here is circumstantial, executive CVs and BRI membership aren't a smoking gun). The framing does a lot of work to bridge that gap and doesn't sit entirely comfortably with me.
The article seems to conflate two separate questions: did Chinese commercial firms sell Iran a capable imaging satellite/access (clearly yes), and did the Chinese state knowingly facilitate a military transaction with a sanctioned country (plausible, but the evidence here is circumstantial, executive CVs and BRI membership aren't a smoking gun). The framing does a lot of work to bridge that gap and doesn't sit entirely comfortably with me.