Russian rocket launches Iranian satellites into orbit

In this photo released by Roscosmos, a Soyuz rocket lifts off from a launch site in Vostochny, far eastern Russia, to carry satellites, including two built by Iran, into orbit on Tuesday (Ivan Timoshenko/Roscosmos/AP)

A Russian rocket has blasted off successfully carrying a pair of Iranian satellites into orbit, a launch that reflected growing cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.

The Soyuz rocket lifted off as scheduled on Tuesday from the Vostochny launchpad in far eastern Russia and placed its payload into a designated orbit nine minutes after the launch.