TEHRAN-- Iran dismissed as “childish” Wednesday claims by the United States that an Iranian satellite launched by Russia is intended for spying. The satellite, called Khayyam, was launched into space on a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Russian-controlled Baikonur Cosmodrome in neighboring Kazakhstan on Tuesday.  Responding to the launch, Washington said Russia’s growing cooperation with Iran should be viewed as a “profound threat”. “We are aware of reports that Russia launched a satellite with significant spying capabilities on Iran’s behalf,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said.

The head of Iran’s Space Agency, Hassan Salarieh, told reporters Wednesday that the spying allegation was “basically childish”.
“Sometimes, some comments are made to incite tensions; saying that we want to spy with the Khayyam satellite... is basically childish,” he said.
“The Khayyam satellite is entirely designed and built to meet the needs of the country in crisis and urban management, natural resources, mines, agriculture and so on.”