The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss previously undisclosed U.S. government information, said the collaboration "almost certainly included technical training on SMIC's semiconductor technology." They did not confirm whether the tools were of U.S. origin, which would make shipments to Iran a violation of existing sanctions against SMIC.
One official said the equipment was provided to Iran's "military industrial complex" and could be applied to any electronics that require chips. That broad potential use makes it difficult to trace what role, if any, the tools have played in Iran's response to the conflict launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28.
You may like U.S. allows TSMC to import chipmaking equipment to its China fabs U.S. lawmakers demand sales ban on chipmaking tools to China Applied Materials to pay $252 million penalty for selling chipmaking tools to banned Chinese firm The transfers reportedly predate the war by several months, beginning around this time last year. SMIC has operated under a U.S. trade blacklist since 2020 , when the Trump administration first restricted its access to American chipmaking equipment over alleged ties to the Chinese military. SMIC has consistently denied those ties.
The Biden administration tightened those restrictions further in 2024, cutting SMIC's most advanced factory from additional U.S. imports after Reuters reported the foundry had produced a sophisticated chip for Huawei's Mate 60 Pro smartphone in late 2023. That chip, built on SMIC's second-generation 7nm-class process, raised fresh concerns about the enforcement of the Foreign Direct Product Rule, which bars the use of U.S. technology to manufacture chips for blacklisted entities.
SMIC has since come under additional pressure from Taiwan, which added both SMIC and Huawei to its strategic high-tech commodities entity list in June 2025, restricting their access to Taiwanese-manufactured components.
The Chinese government has maintained publicly that it conducts normal commercial trade with Iran and has not taken a side in the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict. Earlier this week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on the parties to the conflict to begin peace talks as soon as possible.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/smic-sent-chipmaking-tools-to-irans-military-trump-administration-officials-say#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- Where to buy Intel's Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and Core Ultra 7 270K Plus — grab these impressive Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs from these retailers, starting from $219
- Grab this $8.98 TP-Link gigabit Ethernet switch for lag-free 4K streaming and gaming — save nearly 50% on silent unmanaged 5-port hub to instantly expand your L
- Where to buy Intel's Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and Core Ultra 7 270K Plus — grab these impressive Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs from these retailers, starting from $219
- The Super Micro AI accelerator smuggling scandal proves how cut-throat the global AI race has become — as global trade evolves, so does export control evasion
- HP's new AI workstation can expand horizontally to add 15% more internal volume — alternate side panel also includes more active cooling
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.