Iran launches satellite that is part of a Western-criticized program as regional tensions spike

A File photo of an image grab from a video released by the state-run Iran Press news agency on September 27, 2023, shows the launching of the military imaging satellite, Nour-3, at an undisclosed location

• The announcement, on state television, said the launch was part of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ space program

JERUSALEM: Iran said Saturday it had conducted a satellite launch, the latest for a program the West fears improves Tehran’s ballistic missiles.
The announcement, on state television, said the launch was part of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ space program.
The United States has previously said Iran’s satellite launches defy a UN Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. UN sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired last October.
The US intelligence community’s 2023 worldwide threat assessment said the development of satellite launch vehicles “shortens the timeline” for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile because it uses similar technology.