In February, Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami dismissed US allegations that Tehran’s satellite carriers could be turned into military missiles and that the recent launch of a Zafar satellite was part of the Islamic Republic’s missile programme.

Iran has successfully placed into orbit its first military satellite, the country’s Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.

The satellite called Noor (Light) was placed into an orbit located 425 kilometers (624 miles) above the Earth’s surface by a two-stage carrier Qassed (Envoy).

The launch, which was conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), comes after Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami rejected in February allegations issued by the US that the satellite carriers could be turned into military missiles and that the recent unsuccessful launch of a Zafar satellite was part of Iran’s missile programme.

“The satellite launch and satellite carrier […] are not related to missile [programme]”, Hatami pointed out.

He pledged that despite opposition from some foreign countries, Iran will continue to develop its satellite programme. According to Hatami, while the carrier doesn’t have any military applications, the satellite that it will eventually take into orbit could be used for defensive purposes by the Islamic Republic.

The comments came after Iran failed to deliver a Zafar (“Victory” in Farsi) satellite into orbit after its launch on 9 February due to the rocket not gaining enough acceleration.

The launch was preceded by two other unsuccessful attempts to put the Zafar satellite, designed to gather data on earthquakes and other natural disasters from space, into Earth’s orbit.

“The satellite Noor works with liquid and solid synthetic fuel. We have seized the power of leadership by successfully launching it and recording our presence in space within the group of countries that own this technology”

– IRGC Air Force Commander, Brigadier General Hajjizadeh pic.twitter.com/6SdcVwCQPw — Shabbir Hassanally (شبير حسنعلي) (@purewilayah) April 22, 2020

Everyone tried to stop us, limit us, deprive us. But none of that worked and will never work and we have prevailed and today we showed the world our dominance and the fact that we don’t need to rely on them. #IRGC #Iran 💐🇮🇷Piruzi Khojasteh Bad🇮🇷💐 pic.twitter.com/PbJzU5dzcM — Seyyed Shervin Mortazavi (@SeyyedShervin) April 22, 2020

Congrats Iran for successfully launching your first military satellite! Next, looking forward to sending an Iranian to the moon!! https://t.co/hbxu2pXTnA pic.twitter.com/uwNB0REGav — iraniandotcom (@iraniandotcom) April 22, 2020