Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps yesterday announced that it had successfully launched the nation’s first military satellite, at a time of fresh tensions with US forces in the Persian Gulf.
Washington alleges Iran’s satellite program is a cover for its development of missiles, while Tehran has previously said that its aerospace activities comply with its international obligations.
Tensions between the two escalated last week with the US Department of Defense accusing Iranian vessels of harassing its ships in the Gulf.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hailed the surprise satellite launch as a “great success.”
“The first satellite of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been successfully launched into orbit by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” it said on its Web site.
It said the Nour (“Divine Light” in Persian) had been launched from a Qassed two-stage launcher from the Markazi Desert, a vast expanse in the nation’s central plateau.
The satellite was orbiting the Earth at 425km, the Web site said.
“This action will be a great success and a new development in the field of space for Islamic Iran,” it added.
The operation comes after Iran launched, but failed to put into orbit another satellite that it said had no military purpose.
The attempted launch on Feb. 9 of the Zafar (“Victory” in Persian) came days before the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
Iran and the US have appeared to be on the brink of an all-out confrontation twice in the past year.
Acrimony between Tehran and Washington was exacerbated in 2018 when US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a deal that froze Iran’s nuclear program, before issuing new demands that Tehran curtail its development of ballistic missiles.
Tensions have escalated since the US killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in January.
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