Iran may be near a deal with the People’s Republic of China to obtain supersonic anti-ship missiles to deploy against U.S. warships in the area.
If Iran buys the missiles and can receive them and soon and fails to make an acceptable deal with the United States, and President Trump follows through on his threat to attack—such missiles may be launched at the American ships. The story of the possibly impending sale comes to us from Reuters (February 24, 2026).
Iran is close to a deal with China to purchase anti‑ship cruise missiles, according to six people with knowledge of the negotiations, just as the United States deploys a vast naval force near the Iranian coast ahead of possible strikes on the Islamic Republic.
The deal for the Chinese‑made CM‑302 missiles is near completion, though no delivery date has been agreed, the people said. The supersonic missiles have a range of about 290 kilometres and are designed to evade shipborne defences by flying low and fast. Their deployment would significantly enhance Iran’s strike capabilities and pose a threat to U.S. naval forces in the region, two weapons experts said.
Negotiations with China to buy the missile weapons systems, which began at least two years ago, accelerated sharply after the 12‑day war between Israel and Iran in June, according to the six people with knowledge of the talks, including three officials who were briefed by the Iranian government as well as three security officials….
“It’s a complete gamechanger if Iran has supersonic capability to attack ships in the area,” said Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli intelligence officer and now senior Iran researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies think tank. “These missiles are very difficult to intercept.”
Reuters could not determine how many missiles were involved in the potential deal, how much Iran had agreed to pay, or whether China would go through with the agreement now given heightened tensions in the region.
On February 19, Trump said he was giving Iran ten days to make an acceptable agreement with the U.S. regarding the Iranian nuclear program. I doubt that the U.S. would feel honor bound to refrain from attacking Iran for the whole ten days no matter what.
China’s trade status
Congressman John Moolenaar, chair of the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, says that the Reuters report is a further reason to rescind normal trade relations with China. In January 2025, he and Congressman Tom Suozzi introduced a bill that would “implement tariffs of 35 to 100 percent depending on whether or not a product is critical to national security.”
“China serves as the arsenal of America’s adversaries,” says Moolenaar, “and now it’s reportedly selling missiles to a regime that chants ‘Death to America.’ This is yet another reason we must revoke China’s privileged trade status. This [legislation] will give the administration more leverage in negotiations, protect national security, and level the playing field. China has taken advantage of America for too long, arming our enemies while it undermines our economy and working families.”
Whether Reuters is accurately reporting something real depends on the motives of the unnamed Iranian officials who briefed other officials and the motives of those unnamed other officials. Maybe the Iranian government has reason to give the impression that Iran will be a harder than expected target. Maybe enemies of the regime have reason to give the impression that the U.S. had better act before Iran becomes a harder target.
