China is believed to have helped Iran militarily in the following areas: conduct training of high-level officials on advanced systems, provide technical support, supply specialty steel for missile construction, provide control technology for missile development, build a missile factory and test range. It is rumored that China is responsible for aiding in the development of advanced conventional weapons including surface-to-air missiles, combat aircraft, radar systems, and fast-attack missile vessels.[3] It wasn’t until the 1990s that the relationship between China and Iran came under close scrutiny by the United States. From this scrutiny it became known that China was using North Korea to traffic arms during the Iran-Iraq war to avoid antagonizing the West but later cut out the middle man. In the years of 1984–1986, about $1–2 billion worth of arms sales occurred.[16] And then in 1986, Iran obtained Chinese-made anti-ship surface-to-surface missiles that posed a threat to Persian Gulf shipping.[3] In possessing these missiles, Iran is able to control the Straits of Hormuz and all of the naval trade to and from the Gulf countries.[16] In later inquiries, it was discovered that China sold Iran precursor and dual-use chemicals and the technology and equipment needed to use them.[3] In 1996, the Washington Post exposed that China was supplying chemical weapons plants in Iran that were destined for the Army. Arms exports began to steadily decline in the 1990s yet China engaged in $400 million worth of arms transfer agreements with Iran. Sales increased to $600 million from 1997-2000. On average, it is estimated that China made $171 million per year in arms exports to Iran since 1982.[17]
