Iran launches 3 satellites into space from Russia, state television reports

Iran maintains that its aerospace industry is peaceful and complies with UN Security Council resolutions imposed over its nuclear programme

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a number of satellites blasts off from the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Uglegorsk in the far eastern region of Amur, in this screen grab from a live broadcast run by the Russian space agency Roscosmos on Sunday. Photo: Russian Space Agency Roscosmos / AFP / Handout

Published: 12:39am, 29 Dec 2025

Iran launched three domestically built observation satellites into space from Russia on Sunday, state television reported, marking a new step for Tehran’s space programme despite Western sanctions.

The country maintains that its aerospace industry is peaceful and complies with UN Security Council resolutions imposed over its nuclear programme.

“Three Iranian satellites, Zafar-2, Paya and Kowsar 1.5, were launched into space by a Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia,” Iranian television reported.

The satellites were to be used for “observation” and were designed by “the private sector”, the official IRNA news agency said.

Paya is

Iran’s most advanced domestically produced imaging satellite, using artificial intelligence to improve image resolution, IRNA said.

It said the satellite would focus on water resource management, environmental monitoring and mapping.