Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has achieved a significant milestone in its aerospace program by successfully launching the Soraya satellite into a higher orbit. Despite warnings from the United States about potential military implications, Iran maintains that its satellite and rocket launches serve only civilian or defense purposes.
The launch was carried out using the Ghaem-100 satellite carrier, marking the country’s first satellite to be placed in orbits exceeding 500 kilometers (310 miles). The satellite, weighing about 50 kilograms (110 pounds), now orbits 750 kilometers above Earth, as reported by Iran’s official news agency IRNA and confirmed by Telecommunications Minister Issa Zarepour.
The Ghaem-100, a product of the IRGC’s aerospace organization, is Iran’s inaugural three-stage solid-fuel satellite launcher. This development follows Iran’s first successful military satellite launch, Nour-1, in April 2020, which had elicited strong criticism from the United States.
The U.S. and other Western nations have expressed concerns over Iran’s aerospace activities, pointing out that the same technology used for satellite launches can also be adapted for ballistic missiles, including those capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Tehran, however, firmly denies any intentions of developing nuclear weapons capabilities.
Iran’s aerospace advancements occur against the backdrop of intense U.S. sanctions following Washington’s 2018 withdrawal from the nuclear deal. The deal, which offered Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for limits on its nuclear activities, was intended to prevent the development of nuclear weapons.
