Iran Seeks 3 More Khayyam Satellites

An Iranian satellite launched by Russia blasts off from Kazakhstan on August 9, 2022 Handout Russian Space Agency Roscosmos/AFP/File
An Iranian satellite launched by Russia blasts off from Kazakhstan on August 9, 2022 Handout Russian Space Agency Roscosmos/AFP/File
TT
20

Iran Seeks 3 More Khayyam Satellites

An Iranian satellite launched by Russia blasts off from Kazakhstan on August 9, 2022 Handout Russian Space Agency Roscosmos/AFP/File
An Iranian satellite launched by Russia blasts off from Kazakhstan on August 9, 2022 Handout Russian Space Agency Roscosmos/AFP/File

Iran plans to commission three more versions of a satellite launched this week by Russia, Tehran's government spokesman said Friday.

The Khayyam blasted into orbit on Tuesday, prompting US accusations that it is intended for spying, which Iran denied.

"The construction of three other Khayyam satellites with the participation of Iranian scientists is on the government's agenda," its spokesman Ali Bahadori-Jahromi said on Twitter.

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket sent the satellite into orbit from the Moscow-controlled Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Responding to the launch, Washington said Russia's growing cooperation with Iran should be viewed as a "profound threat", but the head of Iran's Space Agency, Hassan Salarieh, said the Khayyam is designed to meet Iran's needs for "crisis and urban management, natural resources, mines, agriculture and so on."

The Khayyam was built by the Russians under Iran's supervision, Salarieh said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Ahead of the launch, 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 effort before allowing Iran to take control.

Iran's space agency stressed on Sunday that it would control the satellite "from day one", in an apparent reaction to the Post's report.

The United States has accused Iran of effectively supporting Russia's war against Ukraine while adopting a "veil of neutrality".

Western governments also worry that satellite launch systems incorporate technologies interchangeable with those used in ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, something Iran has always denied wanting to build.



Plane with 2 People on Board Crashes in Upstate New York

New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York.  (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York. (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
TT
20

Plane with 2 People on Board Crashes in Upstate New York

New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York.  (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York. (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)

A twin-engine plane with two people on board crashed Saturday in a muddy field in upstate New York, authorities said.
The Columbia County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 report around noon, according to Undersheriff Jacqueline Salvatore, who said the crash was fatal but declined to reveal how many people died.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the Mitsubishi MU-2B was headed to Columbia County Airport near Hudson, but crashed about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away near Copake.
“It's in the middle of a field and it's pretty muddy, so accessibility is difficult,” Salvatore said during a news conference near the scene about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Albany.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it had deployed an investigation team, which was expected to arrive Saturday night.