NNA – Iran said Sunday it successfully launched three satellites into space, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehranrsquo;s ballistic missiles.
The state-run IRNA news agency said the launch also saw the successful use of Iranrsquo;s Simorgh rocket, which has had multiple failures in the past.
Footage released by Iranian state television showed a nighttime launch for the Simorgh rocket. An Associated Press analysis of the footagersquo;s details showed that it took place at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iranrsquo;s rural Semnan province.
State TV named the launched satellites Mahda, Kayhan-2 and Hatef-1. It described the Mahda as a research satellite, while the Kayhan and the Hatef were nanosatellites focused on global positioning and communication respectively.
There have been five failed launches in a row for thenbsp;Simorgh program, another satellite-carrying rocket.
The United States has previously said Iranrsquo;s 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 Iranrsquo;s ballistic missile program expired last October.
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The U.S. intelligence communityrsquo;s 2023 worldwide threat assessment said the development of satellite launch vehicles ldquo;shortens the timelinerdquo; for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile because it uses similar technology.
The U.S. government did not immediately acknowledge the launch. — WP
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