China’s Defense Ministry has rejected reports about the country’s plan to deliver hundreds of shoulder-fired air-defense systems to Iran, calling them “completely inaccurate and contrary to the facts.”

Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, said Thursday, in response to a question about the report, that the claim in question is not accurate. China’s Foreign Ministry had previously described the report about the deal as “groundless.”

Reuters on Wednesday, citing three sources familiar with the matter, reported that Iran is expected to receive the first shipment of a total of 300 to 400 China-made portable air-defense systems within the first few weeks. According to these sources, the deal in question includes the QW-12 and FN-16 missiles and is estimated to be worth between $60 million and $70 million.

Based on the report, the contract was signed with a company based in Hong Kong, which is said to have served as an intermediary between Iran and the Chinese supplier. Reuters sources said the initial shipments were supposed to be sent from Urumqi in western China and transferred to Iran via Pakistan.

📷Archive photo of a portable air-defense system at the Aerospace and Aviation exhibition in China 📷Bloomberg via