The Washington Post reported that Russia is preparing to supply Iran with an advanced satellite that will enable it to track potential military targets across the Middle East. The newspaper added that the plan involves delivering a Russian-made Canopus-V satellite equipped with a high-resolution camera, which can be launched from Russia within months.
The report was published days before a scheduled meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, and at a time when Iran and the United States are engaged in indirect talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at imposing restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for easing economic sanctions.
The newspaper quoted unnamed sources saying that the satellite "will allow for continuous monitoring of installations from oil refineries in the Gulf and Israeli military bases to Iraqi barracks hosting U.S. troops." These sources reportedly included a current U.S. official, a former official, and a senior government official in the Middle East who received brief information about the deal.
The newspaper noted that although the publicity for the Canopus-V satellite indicates it is intended for peaceful uses, Iranian Revolutionary Guard leaders have made several visits to Russia since 2018 to assist in negotiating the agreement. It added that experts from Russia traveled to Iran during the spring to help train crews that will operate the satellite from a new facility built near Karaj, west of Tehran.
The Washington Post stated that the satellite is equipped with Russian technology, "including a camera with a precision of 1.2 meters, which represents a significant improvement compared to Iran's current capabilities, but is still far from the quality of U.S. spy satellites." The Revolutionary Guard stated in April 2020 that it successfully placed Iran's first military satellite into orbit, prompting former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to call for holding Tehran accountable, seeing the move as a challenge to a UN Security Council resolution.
