Russia launches Iranian satellite amid accusations of using it against Ukraine [VIDEO]

Russia launched on Tuesday with Kazakhstan a satellite An Iranian observer who, according to the American press, may have been used by Moscow in an attack on Ukraine, which Tehran denies.

The images, shared by the Russian space agency Roskosmos, show a Soyuz-2.1b rocket carrying the Khayyam satellite taking off from the Russian-controlled Baikonur Cosmodrome at 05:52 GMT.

Russia confirmed the launch. satellite It is named after the Persian poet and scholar Omar Khayyam (1048-1131).

In a statement released after the launch, Roscosmos director Yuri Borisov hailed “a milestone in Russian-Iranian bilateral cooperation that paves the way for new and larger projects.”

For his part, Iranian Minister of Telecommunications Issa Zarepour praised the “historic” event and “a turning point for the start of new space cooperation between the two countries.”

“False Accusations”

Iran, which maintains ties with Russia and avoids criticism of the Russian offensive in Ukrainesought to dispel suspicions that Moscow would use Khayyam to monitor military installations in Ukraine.

Last week, The Washington Post quoted a Western intelligence official as saying that Russia “He plans to use the satellite for several months or more” to support his military operations before allowing Iran to take control.

But the Iranian Space Agency (ISS) assured on Sunday that the Islamic Republic would control Qayyam “from day one.”

“No third country will be able to access the information” sent by the satellite because of its “encrypted algorithm,” he said, denouncing “false” accusations from the American press.

The agency said Kayyam’s mission is to “watch the country’s borders”, improve agricultural productivity, and monitor water resources and natural disasters.

“Because of the weight satellite “Khayyam” is more than two and a half tons and the high success of the Soyuz launch vehicle, the launch of the “Khayyam” satellite was entrusted to Russia,” the IEA explained.

October 2005 Russia launched the first satellite Iranian, Sina-1, from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, in the north-west of the city of Russia.

“Long-term cooperation”

Faced with Moscow’s international isolation due to Western sanctions, the Kremlin has sought to expand into the Middle East, Asia and Africa in search of new clients for its troubled space program.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Iranian counterpart Ibrahim Raisi and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran in July during one of his few foreign trips since the invasion of Iran. Ukraine.

Iran is currently negotiating with world powers, including Russiato salvage the 2015 agreement on the Iranian nuclear program.

The US, which withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under the administration of former President Donald Trump, accuses Iran of supporting Russia’s war against Iran. Ukraine under the cloak of neutrality.

During a July meeting with Putin, Khamenei discussed “long-term cooperation” with Russiaand Tehran refused to join the international condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine.

Iran insists that its space program is for civilian purposes and that it is not violating the 2015 nuclear deal.

Western governments fear that satellite delivery systems include technology interchangeable with ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, which Iran denies.

Iran succeeded in launching its first satellite military in April 2020, drawing sharp criticism from the United States.

(According to AFP)

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