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TEHRAN: Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it launched a second reconnaissance satellite into space as world powers await Tehran’s decision in negotiations over its tattered nuclear deal.
Meanwhile, Iran’s top diplomat at the monthslong talks suddenly flew home late Monday for consultations, a sign of the growing pressure on Tehran as the negotiations appear to be nearing their end.
The Guard said the Noor-2 satellite reached a low orbit of 500 kilometers (310 miles) above the Earth’s surface on the Qased satellite carrier, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It described the Qased, or “Messenger” in Farsi, as a three-phase, mixed-fuel satellite carrier.
“We are destined to reach space and praise be to God we did,” said Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who leads the Guard’s aerospace division. “Now the way has been paved and we must certainly do bigger things.”
Footage aired on state television showed the rocket taking off from a truck-based launcher on a concrete pad in the Shahroud Desert.
Features of the site shown in the footage, analyzed by The Associated Press and compared to regional satellite photos, correspond to a launch site nearly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the city of Shahroud in Iran’s rural Semnan province.
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Authorities already had begun receiving signals from the satellite as it circles the Earth every 90 minutes, IRNA quoted Iranian Information and Communications Technology Minister Isa Zarepour as saying.
U.S. officials did not respond to requests for comment. The launch comes days after satellite pictures suggested Iran’s civilian program suffered another failed launch.
Noor means “light” in Farsi. The Guard launched its first Noor satellite in 2020, revealing to the world that it runs its own space program.
