Exclusive: Iran nears deal to buy supersonic anti-ship missiles from China (www.reuters.com)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml

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LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - 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~~ provide protection against U.S. naval forces in the region, two weapons experts said

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[-] wurzelgummidge@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

according to six people with knowledge

though no delivery date has been agreed, the people said

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

The only person quoted in the entire story is

Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli intelligence officer and now senior Iran researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies think tank

Sounds like the cheerleaders want the war to start as soon as possible

[-] emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works 1 points 15 hours ago

~~Iraq~~ Iran has ~~WMDs~~ anti-ship missiles.

[-] CaptainRipcord@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 day ago

Better buy fast, before the USA makes a move

[-] spitard@jlai.lu 9 points 2 days ago

Would the delivery take place quickly?

[-] mlg@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

If China wants to, they can.

They did it for Pakistan when they asked for their domestic PL-15s and it led to huge success in the air.

They're probably debating whether Iran can use them effectively or not. They don't really have an airforce left, and ground launched missiles could be destroyed before they ever launch.

[-] eldavi@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

only if amazon delivers them. lol

[-] umbrella@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

it would arrive a month later all banged up, then stolen by porch pirates

[-] orc_princess@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 days ago

Oh no, will anyone think of the poor imperial navy????

[-] CyberMonkey403@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 days ago

Weird, I'd have thought they had their own

[-] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 13 points 2 days ago

They do but more doesn't hurt

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 2 days ago

Depends which kind you mean. They have rockets, but this is a cruise missile. Technically a Shahed is a cruise missile, but it's not jet powered and it's definitely not supersonic.

[-] CyberMonkey403@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

I meant that ballistic one they lobbed at Israel in June 2025. Can't find the details right now, but I distinctly recall it to be a short-middle range ballistic missile

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yeah, their rocketry expertise is good - they export it to other nations, actually. The point of moving away from ballistic missiles and their predictable trajectories here would be to avoid interception.

[-] CyberMonkey403@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

Good point about trajectory, thanks

[-] robotElder2@hexbear.net 8 points 2 days ago

Hope they spring for express shipping.

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 days ago

This isn't the hypersonic kind, to be clear. And I kinda doubt it will matter given how long they'll take to deliver and how on the ropes Iran is.

[-] yogthos@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 day ago

I see little evidence of Iran being on the ropes actually. The color revolution attempt failed, they managed to clean house, and they demonstrated during the 12 day war that they can hit Israel and US assets easily.

The US also has a massive logistics problem with Iran being half way across the globe from the burger reich. A quick knock out blow is not possible, and Iran has the advantage in a protracted conflict because it's a large country with logistical depth.

It's going to be far harder for the US to fight Iran than it is for Russia in Ukraine. And that's been going for 4 years now.