Russia sends Iranian satellites into orbit, according to Iranian state media

Russia on Sunday fired three Iranian communications satellites into orbit, the second such launch since July, according to Iranian state television.

The report said that a Russian rocket sent the satellites to circle the Earth on a 500-kilometer orbit from the Vostochny launchpad in eastern Russia. The three satellites are dubbed Paya, Kowsar and Zafar-2.

The Paya, weighing 150 kilograms, is reportedly the heaviest satellite that Iran has ever put in space. Kowsar weighs 35 kilograms, but the report didn't specify the weight of Zafar-2.

The satellites feature up to 3-metre resolution images, applicable in the management of water resources, agriculture and the environment. Their life span is up to five years.

Russia occasionally sends Iran's satellites into orbit, highlighting the strong ties between the two countries. In July, a Russian rocket put the Iranian communications satellite Nahid-2 into orbit.

Russia, which signed a “strategic partnership” treaty with Iran in January, strongly condemned the Israeli and US strikes on Iran that came during a 12-day air war in June and killed nearly 1,100 Iranians, including military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Retaliatory missile barrages by Iran killed 28 people in Israel.

As a long-standing project, Iran from time to time launches satellite carriers to send its satellites into space.

The United States has said that Iran’s satellite launches defy a United Nations Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. UN sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired in 2023.