Iran on Sunday (Jan 28) announced the successful launch of three satellites into space by utilising a rocket with a history of multiple failures.
The satellite launch, part of a program criticised by the West for its perceived impact on Tehran’s ballistic missile capabilities, coincides with heightened tensions in West Asia amid the Israel-Hamas war.
While Iran has not directly entered the conflict, mounting pressure within the country follows a recent Islamic State suicide bombing and actions by proxy groups such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
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Concurrently, the collective Western nations express concerns over Iran’s expanding nuclear program.
Footage released by Iranian state television displayed the nighttime launch of the Simorgh rocket at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Semnan province, 319 km east of Tehran.
State TV identified the launched satellites as Mahda, Kayhan-2, and Hatef-1, serving various research and communication purposes.
Despite previous setbacks, including five consecutive failed launches, the Simorgh program continues.
Iran’s space program
Under former President Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s space program slowed, but with the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal and rising tensions, President Ebrahim Raisi has accelerated efforts. While uranium enrichment is at unprecedented levels, intelligence agencies suggest no active pursuit of nuclear weapons.
What does it mean?
The US intelligence community’s 2023 worldwide threat assessment said that the development of satellite launch vehicles “shortens the timeline” for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The US has criticised Iran’s satellite launches, citing defiance of a UN Security Council resolution. The 2023 worldwide threat assessment underscores the potential dual-use nature of Iran’s satellite launch vehicles, warning of implications for intercontinental ballistic missile development.
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have also joined the US in condemning Iran’s recent satellite launch.
Tehran, which maintains the largest ballistic missile arsenal in West Asia, faces scrutiny due to the supply of such missiles to Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The Houthis, in turn, have utilised these Iran-supplied missiles to strike merchant ships in the Red Sea in their purported support for Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel-Hamas war.
