History, Religion, Politics, Culture, and Travels in the Islamic World
Report that Russia is providing ISR to Iran is poppycock. China is Iran’s trusted partner. China has 9-10x satellite fleet of Russia. Tehran knows Kremlin is untrustworthy and could turn off the switch in the middle of a war. A roundup of my essays on Iran-China cooperation in space-based intelligence technologies
Nawruz greetings to the ancient Iranian nation being unjustly attacked by barbarians
In 4Q25, PLA parked two “Signals Intelligence” (SIGINT) satellites over Mideast to harvest electronic emissions. MizarVision images that caused an internet stir are from China’s Jilin-1 imaging satellites and released by Beijing to message US and Israel that China is watching, and therefore, Iran is watching every move they make.
Iran is beating US like a drum and advancing its strategy, but Washington’s control of the media narrative is thwarting realization of Iran’s goals. Pre-war, Tehran set five objectives to force concessions from the Trump Regime. None have been met as yet because DC is shaping the narrative. Once the media dam breaks, Iran’s goals will be realized.
A hasty roundup for those not following the right Twitter/X and Telegram channels. The war is going swimmingly for US and Israel. Iranian civilians and infrastructure are being targeted by the frustrated enemy, but (1) US bases in Persian Gulf, Jordan, and Iraq are disappearing; (2) all US (THAAD & non-THAAD) radars are gone (= US & Israel are blind); (3) interceptor stocks are dwindling: “Israel’s skies are our highway” (= Iranian missiles and drones freely passing). Israel has imposed strict censorship; and satellite companies like Planet Labs have embargoed release of images for two weeks. But China is releasing images.
Iran employs a “Decentralized Mosaic Defense” (difaʿ-i muzayiki) command-and-control (2C) structure: “decapitations” have minimal impacts on 2C. This is evident from Iran’s control of the escalation ladder, and the calibrated responses advancing Iran’s strategic objectives. Notes and observations on difaʿ-i muzayiki.
Arab states are being pummeled by Iran and US is not helping them. Gulf Arabs have realized that the Washington Mafia took their “protection money” but never intended to protect them. Breach of contract. Even the Genovese crime family that ran my NYC neighborhood met their obligations. Arab states will fall under Iran’s sway.
US and Israel view assassinations as a straight line to “victory.” But killing leaders and generals will not collapse nation-states with sound political-military structures. The assumption that the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) rests on a “cult of personality”—Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei—is facile. Assassinations have unintended consequences.
Iran, Russia, and China have stakes in bloodying the US in the Mideast. Trump painted himself into a corner: if his “big, beautiful armada” does not yield benefits that would allow him to “declare victory” and skedaddle, he looks weak (TACO Trump). If Iran concedes, it looks weak. Israel sees the buildup of US assets as an opportunity it shouldn’t waste: they may strike to drag US into a war.
Elon Musk’s shutdown of Starlink prompted me to as ask, “why are Russian soldiers using Starlink? Don’t they have satellite-based comms?” Yes and no. Russia has systems for “Command, Control, and Communications (C3), but no satellite-based network comparable to USA’s and China’s prolific and multifaceted networks used for C3 and ISR.
You must be logged in to post a comment.