Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 10 February 2020

Iran again fails to put satellite into orbit amid U.S. worries

By AMIR VAHDAT and didate for Iran’s 2021 presi- Maxar Technologies ob- at the time. The rocket tinental ballistic missiles ca-
JON GAMBRELL dential campaign. tained by The Associated explosion in August drew pable of carrying nuclear
Associated Press Jahromi acknowledged Press showed the launch even the attention of U.S. weapons.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Ira- the unsuccessful launch in a tower for the rocket bore President Donald Trump, The State Department did
nian rocket failed to put a not immediately respond
satellite into orbit on Sun- to a request for comment
day, state television report- and the White House did
ed, the latest setback for not immediately acknowl-
a program the U.S. claims edge the launch.
helps Tehran advance its Iran, which long has said
ballistic missile program. it does not seek nuclear
The launch happened weapons, maintains its sat-
at 7:15 p.m. local time at ellite launches and rocket
Imam Khomeini Spaceport tests do not have a mili-
in Iran’s Semnan province, tary component. Tehran
some 230 kilometers (145 also says it hasn’t violated
miles) southeast of Iran’s the U.N. resolution as it
capital, Tehran. A Simorgh, only “called upon” Tehran
or “Phoenix,” rocket not to conduct such tests.
couldn’t put the Zafar 1 Western missile experts
communications satellite have also questioned the
into orbit, however, due to U.S. contention that Iran’s
a low speed, Iranian state program could have a dual
TV reported. use for nuclear weapons.
“Stage-1 and stage-2 mo- In this image taken from video an Iranian rocket carrying a satellite is launched from Imam Over the past decade, Iran
tors of the carrier func- Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s Semnan province, some 230 kilometers (145 miles) southeast of has sent several short-lived
Iran’s capital, Tehran, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020.
tioned properly and the Associated Press satellites into orbit and in
satellite was successfully 2013 launched a monkey
detached from its carrier, into space.
but at the end of its path it tweet shortly after the news massive images of the rev- who later tweeted what The launch comes amid
did not reach the required broke on state TV, compar- olution’s leader, the late appeared to be a clas- heightened tensions be-
speed for being put in the ing it to a “few samples of Ayatollah Ruhollah Kho- sified surveillance image tween Iran and the U.S.
orbit,” Defense Ministry US launch failures.” meini, and the current Ira- of the launch failure. The since Trump unilaterally
space program spokes- “But We’re UNSTOPPABLE! nian supreme leader, Aya- three failures in a row raised withdrew America from
man Ahmad Hosseini told We have more Upcoming tollah Ali Khamenei. suspicion of outside inter- Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal
state TV. Great Iranian Satellites!” Iran had spent just under ference in Iran’s program, with world powers in May
Hosseini still sought to por- Jahromi tweeted in English, 2 million euros to build the something Trump himself 2018. Iran since has begun
tray the failure as a “re- including a satellite emoji. Zafar 1, Jahromi previously hinted at by tweeting that breaking terms of the deal
markable” achievement He later tweeted in Farsi said. Officials planned for the U.S. “was not involved limiting its enrichment of
for its space program. Pre- that “sometimes life does the satellite, whose name in the catastrophic acci- uranium.
vious Simorgh launches of not go the way we like it to means “victory” in Farsi, dent.” Meanwhile, a series of at-
the 80-ton satellite carrier go.” to remain in orbit for 18 Iran postponed the launch tacks across the Persian
suffered other failures. He added: “Please do months before crashing from Saturday, the same Gulf culminated with a U.S.
In the days leading up to not pay attention to fake back through the Earth’s day the country faced a drone strike in Baghdad
the launch, Iranian offi- news.” atmosphere and disinte- major cyberattack. killing Iran’s Revolution-
cials had been promoting The launch had been grating. The U.S. alleges such satel- ary Guard Gen. Qassem
the mission, including the planned amid celebrations Sunday’s failure came after lite launches defy a U.N. Soleimani and a retalia-
country’s Information and ahead of the February an- two failed launches of the Security Council resolution tory ballistic missile strike by
Communications Technol- niversary of Iran’s 1979 Is- Payam and Doosti satel- calling on Iran to under- Iran on Iraqi bases housing
ogy Minister Mohammad lamic Revolution. Iran rou- lites last year, as well as a take no activity related to American troops earlier this
Javad Azari Jahromi. His tinely unveils technological launchpad rocket explo- ballistic missiles capable of month. Iran also acciden-
quick rise through the Is- achievements for its armed sion in August. A separate delivering nuclear weap- tally shot down a Ukrainian
lamic Republic’s carefully forces, its space program fire at the Imam Khomeini ons. American officials, as commercial airliner taking
managed political system and its nuclear efforts dur- Space Center in February well as European nations, off from Tehran amid the
already is generating spec- ing this time. Satellite im- 2019 also killed three re- worry such launches could tensions, killing all 176 peo-
ulation he could be a can- ages by Colorado-based searchers, authorities said help Iran develop intercon- ple on board.q