Russia and Iran respond to US sanctions with satellite launches for Tehran

Russia and Iran have upped the ante against the U.S. in a game to improve the Tehran regime’s defense capabilities in space, intelligence and nuclear payload delivery aimed at America.

Moscow assisted Iran in the launching of three satellites this week, according to Fox News.

Although the launches demonstrate Tehran has fallen short of its goal of being able to produce its own rocket capable of launching satellites, the launches by proxies such as Russia are worrying experts.

“No one should be under the illusion Iran has a civilian satellite program,” said Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. “The regime has an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program using satellite launches as a cover.”

However, Iran has yet to achieve its ultimate goal of launching a satellite into space using Iranian launch technology.

Goldberg said because of billions of dollars previously made available by the Biden administration, Washington effectively subsidized an ICBM program designed to place the U.S. homeland in Tehran’s crosshairs.

The launches come as the U.S. imposed more sanctions on Iran and its allies over concerns about Iranian belligerency towards the U.S. and its allies, as previously reported by The Lion.  

The U.S. cited drone development, the restart of Tehran’s nuclear weapons program and the avoidance of sanctions on oil deliveries imposed on Russia and Iran as the reasons for further sanctions. 

Cooperation between Tehran and Moscow 

The satellite launches mark yet another space effort supported by Russia’s launch capabilities and is portrayed by Iranian officials as evidence of advancing scientific and technological ties, according to a foreign-based, independent, Persian news outlet.  

The launch underscores Moscow’s willingness to expand defense-related cooperation amid global geopolitical tensions and opposition from the U.S. at a time the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.  

The latest round of American sanctions targeted Iranian and Venezuelan entities in a push to choke off financial channels that fund ballistic missile development, Revolutionary Guard activities and support for proxy forces across the Middle East. 

These measures signal a renewed U.S. effort to pressure Iran into curbing its nuclear ambitions and to punish both Tehran and Moscow for deepening ties that challenge U.S. strategic interests. 

Going nuclear? 

Iran’s continuing quest to develop rocketry capable of launching satellites is the major strategic worry, just short of nuclear weapons development.  

The United States argues Iran’s satellite launches violate a U.N. Security Council resolution urging Tehran to avoid ballistic missile activity linked to nuclear delivery systems, reported PBS affiliate WGBH.  

The satellite launch also has broader implications for U.S. allies in the Middle East.  

Nations such as Israel and Gulf Arab states, already wary of Iran’s regional influence and missile capabilities, view increased space and missile cooperation with Moscow as a destabilizing factor. 

“A satellite like that passing over the Middle East, including over Israel, can certainly provide the Iranians with high-quality intelligence, and that can, of course, support their missile program,” said Tal Inbar, an Israeli expert on space and missile issues and former head of the Center for Space and UAV Research. 

Tehran’s ability to field more sophisticated reconnaissance or communications satellites could enhance the effectiveness of proxy forces across Syria, Iraq and Yemen, complicating American and allied operations.