A Russian rocket has successfully put an Iranian satellite into orbit in a launch that underlined increasingly close cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.

Russia’s state-run Roscosmos corporation said that a Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Vostochny launch facility in the country’s far east to carry the Iranian satellite and 18 Russian ones into orbit.

Iranian state TV said the 110kg satellite has three cameras to take images for environmental, agricultural and other purposes.

It said the satellite will be put into orbit around the North and South Poles, synchronised to be in the same fixed position relative to the sun, and will be fully functional after a calibration of its systems.

Thursday’s launch comes after Russia put into orbit the Iranian Khayyam satellite in 2022.

Iran’s communication minister Isa Zarepour said that Iran’s space programme has had a total of 23 launches, including 12 during President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration.