IRGC Says it Launched Satellite

Iran

April 22nd, 5:32am

Asharq Al-Awsat

FILE PHOTO - Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards march during a military parade to commemorate the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war in Tehran September 22, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File Photo

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) said Wednesday it launched a military satellite into orbit amid wider tensions with the US. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the launch of the satellite, which the Guard called “Noor," or light. The IRGC said the satellite successfully reached an orbit of 425 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The two-stage satellite launch took off from Iran’s Central Desert, the Guard said, without elaborating. The launch comes amid tensions between Tehran and Washington over its collapsing nuclear deal and after a US drone strike killed Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in January. Iran has suffered several failed satellite launches in recent months. On Sunday, the Guard acknowledged it had a tense encounter with US warships in the Gulf last week.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2246356/irgc-says-it-launched-satellite