Roscosmos via AP
- Russia launched Iran's satellite
- Western countries fear satellites being used to monitor Ukraine
Russia on Tuesday launched an Iranian satellite from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan.
Russia has launched the Qayam satellite, named after the 12th-century Persian scientist, into orbit from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan.
While Iran says the satellite will be used to improve agricultural production, fears have been raised that Russia may use it to monitor Ukraine and Iran may use it to monitor Israel.
Western security officials told the Washington Post last week that Russia had told Iran it would use a high-resolution camera on the Qayam satellite to monitor military targets in Ukraine.
They also said that this will give Iran an unprecedented ability to monitor Israel and the Middle East.
The launch of the satellite comes as Russia cuts its space cooperation with the West.
