Iran expanding satellite program amid global concerns over military implications
Iran has announced plans to launch a satellite constellation in the coming months amid growing concerns over its ballistic missile program.
Iran has announced plans to launch a satellite constellation in the coming months amid growing concerns over its ballistic missile program.
Hassan Salarieh, head of Iran's Space Organization, confirmed that the Martyr Soleimani satellite constellation, aimed at developing the Internet of Things (IoT), is one of the key projects currently under production.
With 20 satellites slated for launch, Salarieh said that these are part of a broader plan to enhance Iran’s technological capabilities.
"The Martyr Soleimani constellation is a narrowband constellation, designed to support IoT development. This is just one of several important satellite projects we are working on," he said.
Iran’s space endeavors began in 2009 with the launch of the Omid (Hope) satellite. The government insists that its space activities are solely peaceful, yet the dual-use nature of space technology—capable of supporting both civilian and military operations—has raised alarms, particularly among the United States and its allies.
In recent years, Iran has stepped up efforts to improve and expand its space capabilities.
The planned launch of a new space vehicle follows Iran's January 2024 launch of the Soraya satellite, which was carried into orbit aboard the Qaem 100 rocket. That mission drew condemnation from European countries, including Britain, France, and Germany, all of which are part of the now-fractured nuclear agreement with Iran, the JCPOA.
In a joint statement earlier this year, the European Troika expressed concern over Iran's ongoing missile tests, highlighting that the Qaem 100 launcher uses the same technology as Iran’s long-range ballistic missiles.
These launches enable Iran to test technologies that could potentially advance its ballistic missile program, the statement warned, emphasizing that such activities pose a significant threat to both regional and international security.
Further compounding these worries, Iran’s collaboration with Russia in space activities has added another layer of geopolitical complexity. In November 2024, two Iranian satellites—Kowsar, a high-resolution imaging satellite, and Hodhod, a small communications satellite—were launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.
"Several research satellites are also underway, including Pajouhesh (Research) 1,2,3,4 as well as Nahid 2 and Nahid 3, which are ready for launch," Salarieh added. "In addition to these, we have satellites in the telecommunications and sensing fields, with launches set to begin soon."
As Iran continues to develop its space program, the potential for dual-use technology—intended for both civilian and military purposes—remains a point of contention.
In a letter issued on Saturday, the signatories condemned the death sentences of Pakhshan Azizi, Behrouz Ehsani, and Mehdi Hassani, currently held in Evin Prison, urging society to take urgent action to prevent their execution.
“While the ruling political system in Iran continues its crisis-inducing domestic and foreign policies, it seeks solutions through intensified repression in social, political, and cultural spheres,” read the letter.
The political prisoners emphasized that the Iranian government is escalating executions as a tool of control, particularly targeting political dissidents amid growing protest movements.
The letter called the death penalty "state-sponsored premeditated murder" and demanded its total abolition. It also highlighted the stark reality that over 1,000 executions have taken place in Iran in 2024 alone, with the country now responsible for nearly 75% of all global executions this year.
"This is not just a statistic but a method of silencing the oppressed," the prisoners wrote.
Amir Raisian, a defense attorney, confirmed on Wednesday that the death sentence of Pakhshan Azizi had been upheld by Iran's Supreme Court despite what he called numerous procedural flaws in the case. Azizi's brother, Aso Azizi, added that her case had been forwarded to the execution unit.
The Supreme Court also upheld the death sentences of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani on the same day, according to reports from HRANA, a human rights monitoring group.
Fear of growing protest movements
The letter’s signatories warned that the increasing use of executions is part of a broader strategy to stifle dissent.
"The regime, worried about the emergence of new protest movements, is attempting to maintain an atmosphere of fear and terror in society," they wrote.
In response to the sharp rise in executions, protests have erupted both domestically and internationally, with global human rights organizations calling for immediate action.
The issue has become more urgent amid the ongoing hunger strikes by prisoners in the "No to Executions Tuesdays" campaign, which entered its 50th week on January 7. Initially launched in February 2024, the campaign has spread to 30 prisons across Iran, demanding a halt to executions.
On January 6, HRANA reported that 54 prisoners across the country now face execution on political or security-related charges, a significant rise from 33 in February 2024. This increase underscores the growing crackdown on dissent, with at least 21 new individuals added to the list of political prisoners facing death sentences in the past year.
A call for action from inside Evin
Sepideh Gholian, a political prisoner held in Evin Prison’s women’s ward, also reacted strongly to the Supreme Court’s confirmation of Azizi’s death sentence. In a letter obtained by Iran International, Gholian called on people to form a "chain of life to combat the regime's culture of death."
She described the atmosphere as war-like, saying that prisoners are living in constant fear of execution.
"Behind these tall walls and barbed wires, we are women who whisper the names of those sentenced to death every day," Gholian wrote. "The death sentence of Pakhshan Azizi, a woman who once protected war-stricken children, has been confirmed."
Azizi, a Kurdish social worker, was arrested in Tehran on August 4, 2023. After enduring nearly five months of solitary confinement and torture, she was transferred to Evin Prison’s women’s ward in December. In July, Azizi was sentenced to death by Judge Iman Afshari of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court for charges of "rebellion" (Baghi). The Supreme Court upheld her sentence on January 8, and her case is now in the hands of the execution unit, her family confirmed.
Azizi's case has drawn widespread attention to the Islamic Republic’s practice of using the death penalty to suppress political activism and dissent. International human rights groups continue to demand her release and the abolition of capital punishment in Iran.