INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
An Iranian satellite launched by Russia blasted off from Kazakhstan early Tuesday and went into orbit amid controversy that Moscow might use
it to improve its surveillance of military targets in Ukraine.A live feed from Russian space agency Roscosmos showed the launch of the
Soyuz-2.1b rocket carrying the Khayyam satellite from the Russia-controlled Baikonur cosmodrome at the scheduled time of 05:52 GMT.The
of the Ukraine invasion, has sought to deflect suspicions that Moscow could use Khayyam to spy on Ukraine.Last week, U.S
daily The Washington Post quoted anonymous Western intelligence officials as saying that Russia "plans to use the satellite for several
months or longer" to assist its war efforts before allowing Iran to take control.But the Iranian Space Agency said on Sunday that the
Islamic republic would control the Khayyam satellite "from day one.""No third country is able to access the information" sent by the
satellite due to its "encrypted algorithm," it said.The purpose of Khayyam is to "monitor the country's borders," enhance agricultural
productivity and monitor water resources and natural disasters, the space agency said.In a pre-launch statement on Monday ISA praised "the
high reliability factor of the Soyuz launcher.""Due to Khayyam satellite's weight of more than half a ton and the very high success rate of
Moscow's international isolation grows under the weight of Western sanctions over Ukraine, the Kremlin is seeking to pivot Russia towards
the Middle East, Asia and Africa and find new clients for the country's embattled space program.Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian
counterpart Ebrahim Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran last month -- one of his few trips abroad since the invasion
Russia's war against Ukraine while adopting a "veil of neutrality."During his meeting with Putin last month, Iran's Khamenei called for
"long-term cooperation" with Russia, and Tehran has refused to join international condemnation of Moscow's invasion of its pro-Western
neighbor.Iran insists its space program is for civilian and defence purposes only, and does not breach the 2015 nuclear deal, or any other
ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, something Iran has always denied wanting to build.Iran successfully put its
first military satellite into orbit in April 2020, drawing a sharp rebuke from the United States.
