Russia launched a Soyuz rocket early on Tuesday carrying two satellites designed to monitor the space weather around Earth and 53 small satellites, including two Iranian ones, Russia's Roscosmos space agency said.

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

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.