As the first (and hopefully ineffective) salvo of drones and ballistic missiles arrives from Iran, let’s discuss China’s role. China supplied critical missile and drone parts, technology, rocket fuel, and even Chinese personnel who are present in Iran and helping with this attack. The evidence of China’s role in the last few months is incontrovertible:
In February, China was caught red-handed selling Iran 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate. That is a key solid rocket fuel ingredient. Once processed into ammonium perchlorate, it is enough fuel to launch 260 “Kheibar Shekan” missiles or 200 “Haj Qasem” missiles at Israel. Those were the same missiles Iran used to strike Israel on April 13-14, 2024. There is satellite imagery of the shipment arriving in Iran.
In March, Chinese aerospace components used to manufacture Iranian and Houthi offensive drones were intercepted on the Yemen-Oman border. Earlier the same month, Chinese hydrogen fuel cells were found in the wreckage of Houthi drones. In addition, China has been selling Iran and the Houthis drone engines, GPS guidance modules for ballistic missiles, electronics, and more.
In April, a state-owned Chinese satellite technology company, Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co Ltd (CGSTL), was caught supplying the Houthis with real-time Chinese satellite imagery. The Houthis use these to detect and target civilian vessels in the Red Sea.
On April 26, 2025, the entire February shipment of rocket fuel suddenly detonated. The volatile fuel had been hidden in and among civilian containers at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, not in a designated hazardous materials area. The blast killed 57 and wounded 1,000. The explosion sent a shockwave felt 30 miles away. It shattered windows within a mile and incinerated over 10,000 cargo containers nearby.
The Chinese consulate admitted that three Chinese nationals were present at the time of the blast and also injured. Measure for measure, as the Talmud says.
Unfortunately, Iran never seems to learn lessons. Last week, Iran ordered a second shipment of Chinese rocket fuel. This one was twice the size. Perhaps that had something to do with the timing of Israel’s pre-emptive attack today.
China apologists - and there are many - say that Israel should not read into China’s support for Iran. China will sell anything to anybody, they say. Their real beef is with the US, not Israel. Others say that their support of Iran and the Houthis forces the United States into distracting, low-return military skirmishes in the Middle East. Meanwhile, China works to lock in more gains in the South China Sea and elsewhere, their real priorities.
China’s true motivations are irrelevant. Actions matter. China’s actions put Jewish lives in danger and pose a national security threat to Israel.
This is not hypothetical. On July 19, 2024, Tel Aviv resident Yevgeny Ferder, 50, a civilian, was murdered while sleeping in his apartment. He died in an explosion caused by an Iranian Samad‑3 drone, launched by the Houthis. How did it get there? China sold Iran the engine (and many other parts) for the drone. Adding insult to injury, China stole the blueprints for the lightweight aluminum engine from a US company, Desert Aircraft Company.
While there is little that Israel can do militarily against the world’s largest Army and second-largest economy, it must reverse course on its long-established (and misguided) policy of cozying up to China, promoting Chinese investment, and giving China valuable port and transportation concessions in Israel.
You shouldn’t be allowed to eat at Israel’s dinner table while simultaneously trying to kill the cook, the host, and all the Jews in the dining room.
Rami Chris Robbins is a writer who focuses on Middle East issues and foreign policy.