Iran launches its 1st military satellite as tensions with US rise

Iran launches its 1st military satellite as tensions with US rise

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps said Wednesday that it had successfully launched the country's first military satellite into orbit, amid tensions with the United States over Tehran's nuclear and missile programs.

Iran launches its first military satellite

US officials have said they fear that long-range ballistic technology could be used to launch nuclear warheads. Tehran has denied the US claims that such activity covers the development of ballistic missiles and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.

The satellite, whose name Noor means “Light”, was orbiting 425 km above the earth’s surface, they said in a statement on their website.

The force said it used the Qased, or “Messenger”, satellite carrier to launch Noor, without giving details of the technology.

“The three-stage Qased satellite launcher uses a combination of solid and liquid fuels,” it said.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he had instructed the US Navy to fire on Iranian ships in response to the harassment. The United States had said that 11 ships of the Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came dangerously close to US vessels in the Gulf.

In early January, Qasim Sulaimani, Iran's top military commander, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad. Iran responded January 9 by firing missiles at Iraqi bases where US troops were stationed.

The Guard, which runs its military infrastructure in parallel with Iran's regular armed forces, is a hardline force accountable only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It was not immediately clear whether Iran's civilian government knew the launch was imminent. President Hassan Rouhani delivered a 40-minute speech before his cabinet on Wednesday, which did not mention the launch.

Iran has faced several failed satellite launches in recent months. The latest was in February, when Iran failed to keep its Zafar 1 communications satellite in orbit.

On Monday, the guard said it had significantly upgraded its anti-warship missile range and that it had surface-to-surface and subsurface naval missiles of up to 700km range.