US Accuses Chinese AI Firms of Aiding Iranian Strikes

The United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has assessed that Chinese private AI firms, specifically MizarVision and Jing’an Technology, are providing actionable intelligence to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran. These firms utilize artificial intelligence to synthesize open-source data, including shipping logs, flight trackers, and satellite imagery, to track U.S. carrier strike groups and aircraft concentrations at bases in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.

U.S. officials report that MizarVision's AI-enhanced imagery enables near real-time tagging of military assets, potentially identifying targets as small as 0.3 square metres. The DIA specifically linked MizarVision's February 2026 imagery of Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia to a subsequent Iranian attack that killed a U.S. service member. Other targeted locations include the Ovda Air Base in Israel and facilities in the United Arab Emirates where Australian troops are stationed.

While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China defends these activities as routine market practice using open-source channels, U.S. lawmakers argue the firms operate under a national civil-military integration strategy to benefit the People’s Liberation Army. In response to these security risks, the U.S. government requested that commercial satellite providers, including Planet Labs, indefinitely withhold imagery of the conflict region to protect operational security.