Russia launches Iranian satellite into orbit amid offers to mediate an end to Iran-Israel conflict, what's Putin's strategy?

A Russian rocket sent an Iranian communications satellite into orbit Friday, a launch that highlighted strong ties between the two countries. The Soyuz rocket lifted off as scheduled from Vostochny launchpad in far eastern Russia, the country’s state-controlled Roscosmos corporation said. It carried two Russian Ionosphere-M Earth observation satellites, along with Iran’s Nahid-2 satellite and 17 smaller Russian satellites, and put them into designated orbits.

Russia previously launched Iranian satellites

The 110-kilogram (242-pound) Iranian satellite is supposed to circle the Earth on a 500-kilometer (310-mile) orbit and has a service lifetime of two years. In November, Russia launched a pair of Iranian satellites named Kowsar and Hodhod, the first launched on behalf of the country’s private sector. It followed two previous Russian launches of Iranian satellites in 2022 and 2024.

What is Russia's 'strategic partnership' with Iran?

Russia, which signed a “strategic partnership” treaty with Iran in January, strongly condemned the Israeli and US strikes on Iran last month. Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

At the same time, Putin has emphasised that Tehran hasn’t asked Moscow for military assistance and noted that the partnership treaty doesn’t envision such aid. Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to maintain warm relations with Israel even as it developed strong economic and military ties with Iran, a policy that could allow Moscow to play power broker. Speaking to senior news leaders of international news agencies, Putin noted that “it’s a delicate issue,” but added that “in my view, a solution could be found.”

Putin said he shared Moscow’s proposals with Iran, Israel and the United States. “We are not imposing anything on anyone; we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,” he said. Putin’s comments follow a mediation offer that he made in a call with US President Donald Trump last weekend. Trump said Wednesday that he told Putin to stay focused on finding an endgame to his own conflict with Ukraine.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from AP)