Iranian security institutions have come under growing internal pressure and suspicion since Israel’s June attacks, with accounts describing heightened oversight inside the Revolutionary Guard, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
Hassan Salarieh, head of the Iranian Space Agency, told a media event in Semnan that the Zafar-2, Paya and the second batch of Kosar imaging satellites are ready for launch.
He said Iran’s space sector had advanced to the point where “satellites with one-meter and sub-five-meter imaging resolution are now under construction.”
Salarieh said the first experimental launch from the Chabahar Space Center – a coastal site under development in Iran’s southeast – will take place next year.
“Chabahar is becoming one of the most important launch centers in West Asia,” he said, adding that its construction began in 2023 and that the site is designed to support heavier, liquid-fuel launch vehicles.
His comments come as Iran accelerates work on Chabahar’s second development phase. In April, the agency said the facility would eventually handle semi-heavy liquid-fuel rockets and serve as Iran’s main space gateway, with a geographic position suited for placing satellites into sun-synchronous and geostationary orbits.
Salarieh said Iran had also signed its first private-sector contracts for satellite constellations, including the narrow-band Kosar system intended for emergency data transfer, and highlighted recent milestones such as the launch of private-built satellites on a Russian rocket, the successful 2023 flight of the solid-fuel Sorayya launcher, and the deployment of the Nahid-2 communications satellite in 2025.
Iran has long said its space program is civilian and scientific, though Western governments argue that technologies used for orbital launches can advance long-range ballistic missile capabilities.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran’s missile and space work supports national deterrence, while Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh has said Tehran could eventually offer launch services to allied states.
Salarieh said domestic expertise had raised Iran’s launch capacity to “several hundred kilograms” and that efforts in propulsion, solid-fuel and liquid-fuel systems had advanced in parallel over the past three years.
Iran’s space program has picked up pace since the 2009 launch of the Omid satellite, with universities and state-linked research centers producing a series of experimental spacecraft.
In 2023 and 2024, Iran also carried out multiple sub-orbital tests, launched reconnaissance satellites via foreign rockets and unveiled new satellite buses and transfer stages, including the Saman-1 upper stage designed for higher-altitude orbits.
Salarieh said the government sees space as a strategic industry with economic, security and industrial implications. “We have strong human capital and significant infrastructure,” he said. “The development of space capability will continue rapidly.”
According to the report, unnamed Iranian officials and security sources said this week that members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other agencies have become increasingly distrustful of one another after what the newspaper described as “extensive Israeli infiltration” during the 12-day war in June.
The report said officials inside Iran spoke of security personnel seeking to demonstrate their loyalty as investigations widen.
One senior Iranian official told The Telegraph that “many officials, including within the Sepah [IRGC], are doing everything they can to convince the system that they haven’t done anything wrong,” adding that “the Israelis have massively infiltrated several agencies.”
Another official said, “what’s becoming an even greater concern is the growing number of people who are, in one way or another, betraying the system,” according to the paper.
According to analysts cited in the report, the atmosphere of suspicion could complicate Iran’s crisis-management capabilities. “The paranoia within the IRGC risks weakening Iran’s most powerful military force and the regime’s ability to respond coherently to future crises."
Hundreds of people have been arrested on espionage charges since June and several Iranians have been executed, actions that officials speaking to the outlet described as intended to show that “the system is still functioning.”
The Telegraph also cited officials describing confusion over the status of Tehran’s regional allied forces and unease about the country’s longer-term direction.
A poll by the Iranian Student Polling Agency reported public dissatisfaction at 92%, attributing the figure to Iran’s economic troubles and renewed UN sanctions after the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal.
President Masoud Pezeshkian offered a similar note of concern in remarks to parliament last week, warning that Iran could “turn on itself” if the Supreme Leader were harmed during a crisis.
He said the country’s cohesion rests on Ali Khamenei’s leadership and cautioned that an attack on him during the June war might have triggered internal clashes “without the need for Israel to intervene.” He urged officials to avoid factionalism and to reinforce cooperation across state institutions.
Earlier in the month, the arrest of two men displaying the pre-1979 Iranian flag at a Tehran metro station sparked debate about discontent within parts of the security forces.
Despite the reported pressures, the Telegraph said experts believe the Iranian state remains structurally stable, pointing to what it called “rally-around-the-flag” dynamics during and after the June conflict with Israel.
