The Wall Street Journal reported that the images were allegedly provided to Tehran ahead of and following Iran’s July 17 missile attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
The report, citing unnamed US officials, did not identify the Chinese entities allegedly involved or accuse the Chinese government of directly authorising the transfer.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun rejected the allegations on Monday, describing them as baseless.
“We firmly oppose groundless suspicion and accusations without evidence,” Guo said at a regular news conference.
The report comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to the White House on September 24, with the allegations potentially adding to tensions between Washington and Beijing.
US President Donald Trump, however, played down the claims, saying the United States also conducts intelligence operations against China.
“When they say that China spies on us, I say you’re right, and we spy on them too,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
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Trump has previously warned Beijing against supplying weapons to Iran. In May, the US sanctioned three China-based satellite companies over allegations that they supported Iran’s military operations.
China is a major economic and diplomatic partner of Iran, purchasing much of its oil and maintaining close ties with Tehran.
Despite the latest allegations, Trump said on Sunday that Xi had “behaved reasonably well,” adding that both countries were also conducting themselves reasonably.
