Western governments have long argued that space-launch know-how is inherently dual-use, overlapping with technologies relevant to long-range missile development.

Iran launched three domestically built satellites into low Earth orbit aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, in a mission Tehran is framing as a technical milestone and a political signal.

Iranian state media identified the payload as Paya, Kowsar and Zafar-2, saying the satellites were placed into roughly a 500-kilometer orbit and are intended for civilian Earth-observation uses such as agriculture, water management and environmental monitoring.