Iran says it 'successfully' launched new military satellite
Published: 03:09 PM,Sep 27,2023 | EDITED : 07:09 PM,Sep 27,2023
TEHRAN: Iran's Revolutionary Guards 'successfully' launched a new military imaging satellite on Wednesday, state media reported, in the latest display of its aerospace technology.
'The Nour-3 imaging satellite... was successfully placed in orbit 450 kilometres above earth,' the IRNA news agency said, quoting Telecommunications Minister Issa Zarepour.
He said it was carried by the three-stage Qassed satellite carrier, which also launched predecessors Nour-2 in 2022 and Nour-1 in 2020.
Wednesday's launch was carried out by the aerospace wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of the country's armed forces.
IRGC commander Hossein Salami told state television that the new satellite would provide higher resolution images than its predecessors enabling the Guards to 'meet their intelligence needs'.
The United States has repeatedly warned Iran against such launches, saying the same technology can be used for ballistic missiles, including ones designed to deliver a nuclear warhead.
Iran counters that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and that its satellite and rocket launches are for civil or defence purposes only.
Iran's successful launch of its first military satellite into orbit, Nour-1, in April 2020 drew a sharp rebuke from the US.
In a recent interview with a Japanese news agency, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke of a Japanese proposal to relaunch Iran's nuclear talks with the United States.
The US military says the same long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also allow Tehran to launch longer-range military weapons.
Tehran denies US assertions that such activity is a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.
Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programmes in the Middle East, has faced challenges in several launches due to technical issues.
The Biden administration issued fresh Iran-related sanctions on September 19, targeting multiple people and entities in Iran, Russia, China and Turkiye in connection with drone and military aircraft development.
It had previously imposed sanctions on Iran's civilian space agency and two research organisations in 2019, saying they were being used to advance Tehran's ballistic missile programme.
Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties since the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution. — Agencies
'The Nour-3 imaging satellite... was successfully placed in orbit 450 kilometres above earth,' the IRNA news agency said, quoting Telecommunications Minister Issa Zarepour.
He said it was carried by the three-stage Qassed satellite carrier, which also launched predecessors Nour-2 in 2022 and Nour-1 in 2020.
Wednesday's launch was carried out by the aerospace wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of the country's armed forces.
IRGC commander Hossein Salami told state television that the new satellite would provide higher resolution images than its predecessors enabling the Guards to 'meet their intelligence needs'.
The United States has repeatedly warned Iran against such launches, saying the same technology can be used for ballistic missiles, including ones designed to deliver a nuclear warhead.
Iran counters that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and that its satellite and rocket launches are for civil or defence purposes only.
Iran's successful launch of its first military satellite into orbit, Nour-1, in April 2020 drew a sharp rebuke from the US.
In a recent interview with a Japanese news agency, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke of a Japanese proposal to relaunch Iran's nuclear talks with the United States.
The US military says the same long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also allow Tehran to launch longer-range military weapons.
Tehran denies US assertions that such activity is a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.
Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programmes in the Middle East, has faced challenges in several launches due to technical issues.
The Biden administration issued fresh Iran-related sanctions on September 19, targeting multiple people and entities in Iran, Russia, China and Turkiye in connection with drone and military aircraft development.
It had previously imposed sanctions on Iran's civilian space agency and two research organisations in 2019, saying they were being used to advance Tehran's ballistic missile programme.
Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties since the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution. — Agencies