USA: The Launch of the Islamic Republic's Satellite by the Russians and the Deepening Military Cooperation Between the Two Countries is Detrimental to the World

The spokesperson for the U.S. State Department responded on Thursday to a question from the Persian section of Voice of America regarding Washington's assessment of Iranian media reports about the launch of a satellite into space by Russia, saying: "We have seen the reports of the satellite launch; this is another sign of the deepening military partnership between Iran and Russia." Matthew Miller continued: "As we have repeatedly warned publicly, this partnership is harmful to Ukraine, Iran's neighbors, and the international community." Iranian media reported on Thursday that a satellite named Pars 1, described as 'research-oriented' and 'capable of monitoring Iran's topography from a distance of five hundred kilometers,' has been sent into orbit by Russia. Mr. Miller emphasized that the U.S. has demonstrated its ability to respond to the military cooperation between Russia and Iran in close coordination with its partners and allies, warning that if Iran goes further and sells ballistic missiles to Russia, I assure you that the global community's response will be swift and severe. Eisa Zarepour, the Minister of Information and Communications of the Islamic Republic, told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that Iran's domestic launch bases still do not have the capability to launch satellites at the appropriate angle, which is why the country is using Russian launch bases. Russia sent Iran's Khayyam remote sensing satellite into orbit in 2021 from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, indicating a deeper scientific collaboration between the two countries, both of which are under U.S. sanctions. Following a report in recent days that Tehran has sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its military aggression in Ukraine, John Kirby, the White House National Security Advisor for Communications, stated that although Washington does not yet have evidence of ballistic missile transfers from Iran to Russia, Iran will face more sanctions in the coming days for its military cooperation with Russia, and if Iran sells ballistic missiles to Russia, the U.S. will go beyond this action. The United Nations Security Council's restrictions on the export of certain missiles, drones, and other technologies from Iran expired last October. However, the U.S. and the European Union have maintained sanctions against the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile program amid concerns about the export of weapons to this country's proxy forces in the Middle East and Russia.