A Russian rocket introduced an Iranian satellite tv for pc into orbit on Tuesday, a tangible signal of the increasing cooperation between the 2 international locations within the face of stringent Western sanctions imposed on each.
A Soyuz rocket wearing the “Khayyam” satellite tv for pc into orbit lifted off from the Russian-run Baikonur release facility in Kazakhstan simply earlier than 9 am
“The successful launch of the satellite in the interests and on the order of Iran has become an important milestone in Russian-Iranian bilateral cooperation, opening the way to the implementation of new and even larger projects,” Yury Borisov, the director common of Roscosmos , the Russian house company, stated in a commentary.
Russia has been in quest of nearer alliances, together with with Iran, since its invasion of Ukraine has left it remoted from many Western international locations.
Iran stated in a commentary that the satellite tv for pc would no longer be used for army packages, as some information media experiences have advised.
“The rumors about using the satellite’s photos for military purposes are wrong,” the Iranian commentary stated.
The satellite tv for pc, fitted with a high-resolution digicam, shall be used for agricultural systems, water assets and different environmental packages, the Iranian Space Agency stated within the commentary. Iranian scientists took keep an eye on of the satellite tv for pc right away after the release, it stated, and no different country would have get admission to to the tips it harvested.
Although negotiations in regards to the release preceded Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it comes not up to a month after President Vladimir V. Putin visited Tehran in his quest to turn that Western sanctions imposed over the conflict had did not isolate his nation.
Iran has lengthy revel in with evading Western sanctions, and the USA says it has introduced to promote Russia drones to be used in Ukraine and different apparatus the usage of generation that Western international locations are now not promoting to Moscow.
“Today is a turning point for the start of a new interaction in the field of space between our two countries,” Isa Zarepour, the Iranian minister for communications and knowledge generation, stated in a commentary.
The satellite tv for pc used to be named after Omar Khayyam, a famend Persian scientist and poet. The Baikonur facility has been used for house launches for many years, and used to be inaugurated when Kazakhstan used to be a part of the Soviet Union.