Tehran says Iranian specialists will management “from day one” an Iranian satellite tv for pc on account of be launched by Russia subsequent week, rejecting experiences that it is going to be first utilized by Moscow to “improve its surveillance of army targets” in Ukraine.
“All orders associated to the management and operation of this satellite tv for pc will probably be carried out and issued from day one and instantly after launch by Iranian specialists primarily based in Iran’s…area bases,” the Iranian House Company mentioned in an announcement on August 7.
The spacecraft, a distant sensing satellite tv for pc known as Khayyam, will probably be despatched into orbit by a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on August 9, in keeping with Russia’s State House Company.
A report by The Washington Publish on August 4 claimed that Russia “plans to make use of the satellite tv for pc for a number of months or longer” to help its conflict efforts in Ukraine earlier than permitting Iran to take management of it.
Citing nameless Western intelligence officers, the report mentioned the satellite tv for pc will present Tehran with “unprecedented capabilities, together with near-continuous monitoring of delicate amenities” in Israel and within the Gulf.
However the Iranian area company dismissed the claims as “unfaithful,” and mentioned “no third nation is ready to entry the knowledge” despatched by the satellite tv for pc on account of its “encrypted algorithm.”
Iran efficiently put its first army satellite tv for pc into orbit in April 2020, adopted by the launch of army reconnaissance satellite tv for pc Nour-2 in March 2022.
Final 12 months, Moscow denied a U.S. media report that Russia is ready to ship a complicated satellite tv for pc system to Iran that may vastly enhance its spying capabilities.
Western governments fear that satellite tv for pc launch techniques incorporate applied sciences interchangeable with these utilized in ballistic missiles able to delivering a nuclear warhead. Iran insists its area program is for civilian and protection functions solely.
