A first military satellite named Noor is launched into orbit by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, in Semnan, Iran April 22, 2020. WANA | Sepah News via Reuters

WASHINGTON — Iran said Wednesday that it successfully launched the nation's first military satellite, another move in the heightened tit-for-tat fight between Washington and Tehran over the regime's missile programs. The satellite, dubbed Noor, was sent into orbit using a long-range rocket, according to a statement by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. U.S. officials have long feared that Iran's pursuit of developing satellite technology is a cover for ballistic missile activity. Tehran, meanwhile, has denied those assertions and has said that Iran is not working toward a nuclear weapons program. "We want to make sure that they can never threaten the United States," U.S. Air Force Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Wednesday at the Pentagon when asked about the satellite launch.

Hyten, who previously oversaw the nation's nuclear weapons portfolio as commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said he could not confirm if the Iranian satellite was successfully launched into orbit, noting that it takes time and tracking to determine the outcome. He added that the launch was another example of Iran's malign behavior and comes a week after Iranian fast boats harassed U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf. "We're trying to create a safe environment for maritime transit in that part of the world. That's what the force over there is to do, and the malign behavior of Iran that questions that causes significant risks to the safety and security of that region of the world and therefore the world as a whole," Hyten said of the incident. President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that the United States would destroy Iranian gunboats that harass American ships at sea.

Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy vessels conducted unsafe and unprofessional actions against U.S. Military ships by crossing the ships' bows and sterns at close range while operating in international waters of the North Arabian Gulf. US Navy photo

Iranian mourners gather during the final stage of funeral processions for slain top general Qasem Soleimani, in his hometown Kerman on January 7, 2020. Atta Kenare | AFP | Getty Images

A day later from the White House, Trump said that Iran appeared "to be standing down" and warned Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. "As long as I am president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said speaking from the grand foyer of the White House. But he suggested that the U.S. is open to negotiations with Tehran. "We must all work together toward making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place," he said on Jan. 8. He then urged other world powers to break away from the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran and work out a new deal. Read more: Iran's foreign minister blames Trump's advisors for 'very dangerous moment' in relations with the US The tit-for-tat strikes follow what the U.S. called an Iranian attack on the world's largest crude-processing plant and oil field. Last summer, the U.S. blamed Iran for the predawn strikes in Saudi Arabia that forced the kingdom to shut down half its production operations. The event triggered the largest spike in crude prices in decades and renewed concerns of a budding conflict in the Middle East. Iran maintains that it was not behind the attacks.

Employees work at the damaged site of Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. Maxim Shemetov | Reuters