NEW YORK, December 28, 2025, 21:50 ET
- Iran said three satellites — Paya, Zafar-2 and Kowsar — were launched into low Earth orbit from Russia.
- The launch used a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Iranian state media reported.
- The mission adds to Iran-Russia cooperation that Western governments scrutinize for potential dual-use rocket technology.
Iran said on Sunday three of its satellites were launched into low Earth orbit from Russia, extending space cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.
Iranian state media said a Russian Soyuz rocket carried the Paya, Zafar-2 and Kowsar satellites from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far east.
The launch matters because Iran has increasingly relied on Russia to place satellites in orbit while both countries remain under U.S. sanctions and have drawn closer since Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It also comes as Western governments continue to argue that satellite launch technology overlaps with long-range ballistic missile development, even when missions are billed as civilian.
Bloomberg, citing Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, reported the satellites will orbit about 500 kilometers (310 miles) above Earth.
The Associated Press said Paya, at 150 kilograms (330 pounds), is the heaviest satellite Iran has deployed into orbit, while Kowsar weighs 35 kilograms (77 pounds). It said the satellites can produce imagery with up to 3-meter resolution and are expected to operate for up to five years.
Iranian state media said the satellites are intended for environmental and agricultural uses, including monitoring agriculture, natural resources and the environment.
Iran’s space agency chief Hassan Salarieh said Iran was among “10 or 11” countries that can build satellites and the systems needed to launch and process data from them, Iran International reported. ایران اینترنشنال | Iran International
Iran International said the Iranian payload was part of a multi-satellite mission that also carried Russian spacecraft and satellites from partner countries including Belarus, Kuwait and Montenegro.
The launch is the second time this year Russia has put an Iranian satellite into orbit, after a July mission that carried the Nahid-2 communications satellite, AP reported.
Iran and Russia have deepened ties since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Western countries accusing Iran of supplying drones and missiles for Russian attacks. Tehran denies those accusations, Reuters reported.
The United States has said Iran’s satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution and has urged Tehran to avoid activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, AP reported. It noted U.N. sanctions tied to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired in 2023.
Iran says its space program is civilian and focused on scientific and economic goals, while Western governments say the technology can be adapted for military use.
Iran’s ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said the satellites were designed and produced by Iranian scientists despite sanctions and threats, Iranian state television reported, according to Reuters.
