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Iran has launched a rocket into orbit carrying what state-owned Al-Alam televison report as an "experimental capsule".

The Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer) rocket has a cargo of live animals including a rat, turtles and worms.

Pictures on state television shows the rocket being fired from a launch pad.

President Ahmadinejad praised the launch of the satellite and the progress his country was making in its space programme.