newYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Russia launched an Iranian satellite into space on Tuesday, just weeks after Russia announced plans to abandon the International Space Station over the next two years.
The launch, launched from the Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan, put the Khayyam satellite into orbit.
Iran claims the satellite, named after a 12th-century Persian scientist, will be used to improve agricultural productivity, while Russia uses it to monitor Ukraine and Tehran Concerns have been raised that it could be used to spy on Israel.
Two Western security officials told The Washington Post last week that Moscow had informed Iran that it would use high-definition cameras on satellites to monitor Ukrainian military targets for “several months.” rice field.
President Biden’s New Weapons Package for Ukraine Is Biggest Ever, Pentagon Says
The satellite will eventually give Iran an “unprecedented ability” to monitor classified facilities in Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East, officials told the newspaper.
The launch also comes amid the collapse of space cooperation between Russia and the West amid President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Yuri Borisov, recently appointed president of Russia’s state-owned space company Roscosmos, said last month that Russia will leave the International Space Station within the next two years.
“The decision has been made to leave the station after 2024,” Borisov said in late July, noting that Russia would fulfill its partners’ promises before leaving.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.