Iran says it has launched a new military satellite

The Iranian Noor-2 satellite has reached a low orbit on the Ghased satellite carrier, state media reported on Tuesday.

The launch comes as world powers await Tehran's decision over the country's nuclear deal.

Why is this launch important?

Placing a second satellite in space orbit would represent a major step for Iran's military, and raises concerns about Tehran's nuclear and missile programs.

"Iran's second military satellite, named Noor-2, has been launched into space by the Qassed rocket of the aerospace wing of the Revolutionary Guards and successfully placed in orbit 500 kilometers [310 miles] above the Earth," the official IRNA news agency reported.

The US claims that Iran's satellite launches breach a UN Security Council resolution. It has called on Tehran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Washington has said the same long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also allow Tehran to launch longer-range weapons. It said these could even include nuclear warheads.

Tehran has rejected US claims that its activities are a cover for the development of such ballistics.

Technical troubles

No pictures of the latest launch, also reported by the semiofficial news agency Tasnim, or the satellite, were initially released. The first Noor satellite, the name meaning "light," was launched by Iran in April 2020.

The rocket used a similar combination of liquid and solid fuel that carried the first military satellite.

The country has experienced several failed satellite launches in recent years due to technical issues.

In December, Iran failed to put three payloads into orbit after the rocket carrying them was unable to reach the necessary speed, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.

That attempted launch brought criticism from the United States, Germany and France.

rc/rt (AP, Reuters)