Israel’s Hebrew-language official television station stated that reports concerning Russia’s provision of modern satellites for intelligence and information collection to Iran are worrying the country, and Russia denies the authenticity of these reports.
On Friday night, state television quoted an (unnamed) Israeli security source as saying that the satellite discussed in the report will give Iranians unprecedented ability to track and monitor Israeli military bases.
According to the same source, in addition to tracking Israeli military bases, the satellite will also enable Iranians to track and monitor other strategic targets in Israel and the Middle East.
Israel TV added that the Russian satellite “Canopus-V” is equipped with high-resolution cameras, which can help Iran to continuously monitor Israeli military bases and other facilities, as well as U.S. military facilities in Iraq.
Israel’s main concern is that Iran may have an independent ability to obtain information about Israel and share it with Lebanese Hezbollah and other organizations.
According to the same source, Israel is also concerned about Iran’s monitoring of its military’s mobile infrastructure, including the distribution of batteries for the “Iron Dome” defense system, and the deployment of troops on the ground and on naval vessels.
Putin: Lies and nonsense
On Friday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied the authenticity of reports about the country’s sale of the aforementioned satellites to Iran, calling it false news.
Putin said in an interview with NBC, “We have a cooperation plan with Iran, including military and technical cooperation. But this is just fake news.”
He added: “I don’t know anything about it, maybe the people who talk about it know more. It’s just nonsense.”
The report appeared a few days before the Geneva summit between Putin and US President Joe Biden on June 16. This is Biden’s first foreign visit since he took office in January.
(Al Jazeera)“Washington Post” report
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Russia plans to provide Iran with advanced satellites to enable Iran to track military targets throughout the Middle East.
The newspaper quoted sources familiar with the details of the plan in the United States and the Middle East as saying that the satellite is expected to be launched within a few months, which is the result of many visits to Russia by the leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.
According to sources in the newspaper, the satellite will be launched from Russia. Although it does not have the capabilities of US satellites, Iran can use it to monitor specific locations.
According to American newspapers, Russian experts trained staff on the use of the satellite at a location near the town of Karaj in northern Iran.
Owning this satellite will make Iran more capable of monitoring the Gulf region, Israeli bases and the US military presence in Iraq.
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