TEHRAN, 14 Sep: Iran launched a satellite into space Saturday with a rocket built by the country\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, state-run media reported, the latest for a program the West fears helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program.
\nIran described the launch as a success, which would be the second such launch to put a satellite into orbit with the rocket. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the launch\u2019s success.
\nFootage later released by Iranian media showed the rocket blast off from a mobile launcher. An Associated Press analysis of the video and other imagery later released suggested the launch happened at the Guard\u2019s launch pad on the outskirts of the city of Shahroud, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) east of the capital, Tehran.
\nThe launch comes amid heightened tensions gripping the wider Middle East over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, during which Tehran launched an unprecedented direct missile-and-drone attack on Israel. Meanwhile, Iran continues to enrich uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels, raising concerns among nonproliferation experts about Tehran\u2019s program.
\nIran identified the satellite-carrying rocket as the Qaem-100, which the Guard used in January for another successful launch. Qaem means \u201cupright\u201d in Iran\u2019s Farsi language.
\nThe solid-fuel, three-stage rocket put the Chamran-1 satellite, weighing 60 kilograms (132 pounds), into a 550-kilometer (340-mile) orbit, state media reported. The rocket bore a Quranic verse: \u201cThat which is left by Allah is better for you, if you are believers.\u201d
\nA state-owned subsidiary of Iran\u2019s Defense Ministry and experts at the Aerospace Research Institute built the satellite with others to \u201ctest hardware and software systems for orbital maneuver technology validation,\u201d state media said, without elaborating.
\nGen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard, praised the launch in a statement and said scientists successfully overcame \u201cthe atmosphere of extensive and oppressive international sanctions.\u201d
\nThe U.S. State Department and the American military did not immediately respond to requests for comment over the Iranian launch.
\nThe United States had previously said Iran\u2019s satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. U.N. sanctions related to Iran\u2019s ballistic missile program expired last October.
\nUnder Iran\u2019s relatively moderate former President Hassan Rouhani, the Islamic Republic slowed its space program for fear of raising tensions with the West. Hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who came to power in 2021, has pushed the program forward. Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May.
\nIt\u2019s unclear what Iran\u2019s new president, the reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, wants for the program as he was silent on the issue while campaigning.
\nThe U.S. intelligence community\u2019s worldwide threat assessment this year said Iran\u2019s development of satellite launch vehicles \u201cwould shorten the timeline\u201d for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile because it uses similar technology.
\nIntercontinental ballistic missiles can be used to deliver nuclear weapons. Iran is now producing uranium close to weapons-grade levels after the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers. Tehran has enough enriched uranium for \u201cseveral\u201d nuclear weapons, if it chooses to produce them, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency repeatedly has warned.
\nIran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons and says its space program, like its nuclear activities, is for purely civilian purposes. However, U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA say Iran had an organized military nuclear program up until 2003.
\nThe launch also came ahead of the second anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, which sparked nationwide protests against Iran\u2019s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, law and the country\u2019s Shiite theocracy. (AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEHRAN, 14 Sep: Iran launched a satellite into space Saturday with a rocket built by the country\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, state-run media reported, the latest for a program the West fears helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program. Iran described the launch as a success, which would be the second such launch to put a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-248583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248583\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}