Iran on Monday carried out a suborbital test of its Ghased satellite launch vehicle, marking its first such move since last month’s ceasefire ended a 12-day conflict with Israel, which also included US strikes on nuclear-related sites in the Islamic Republic.
The state-run IRNA news agency reported the test was aimed at “assessing some emerging new technologies in the country’s space industry,” adding that the results would be used to enhance Iran’s satellite and space capabilities.
Further details, including the launch site, were not disclosed.
The Ghased rocket, which uses both solid and liquid fuel, was first unveiled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 2020 and successfully placed a military satellite into orbit, according to The Associated Press. Iran has continued to develop its space program, which Western officials view as a cover for advancing ballistic missile technology.
Iran has several times tried to launch satellites into space. In September of 2024, the Islamic Republic claimed it successfully launched a satellite into space with a rocket built by the Revolutionary Guard.
A year earlier, Iran launched another satellite using a rocket developed by the IRGC.
In January of 2022, a top Iranian official claimed that Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard had launched a solid-fuel satellite carrier rocket into space and that the test was successful.
A month earlier, Iran claimed it had successfully launched three research satellites into space. According to Ahmad Hosseini, a Defense Ministry spokesman, the rocket used was a Simorgh.
A day later, however, Iran acknowledged that the space launch failed to put its three payloads into orbit after the rocket was unable to reach the required speed.
Iran’s satellite launches have been condemned by the US and its allies, who say that Iran’s satellite launches defy UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which enshrined Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States and calls on Iran to refrain for up to eight years from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons.