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Iran Launches Fourth Satellite Into Orbit as US Claims Its Carrier Rocket Can Be Used With Nukes

© AFP 2023 / Vahidreza AlaeiIran's prototypes of four new satellites (from L) Rasad, Amir Kabir-1, Zafar and Fajr, are on display during their unveiling ceremony in Tehran on 7 February 2011
Iran's prototypes of four new satellites (from L) Rasad, Amir Kabir-1, Zafar and Fajr, are on display during their unveiling ceremony in Tehran on 7 February 2011  - Sputnik International
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The US has long accused Iran of trying to develop both nuclear weapons and the long-range means of their delivery, and re-imposed sanctions against the country in 2018 in a professed attempt to prevent that. Tehran denies seeking to build nuclear weaponry, stressing that it's against their religion.

Iran has unsuccessfully launched it fourth satellite, called Zafar ("Victory" in Farsi), into orbit on 9 February. It was preceded by two unsuccessful launch attempts in 2019 and is expected to be followed by the delivery of four more satellites.

The launch, however, was denounced by the US, which claims the carrier rocket can be used to deliver nuclear warheads and that the whole project was cover for a long-range ballistic missile test.

© AFP 2023 / STR/VAHIDREZA ALAIIranian flag fluttering in front of Iran's Safir Omid rocket, which is capable of carrying a satellite into orbit, before it's launch in a space station at an undisclosed location in the Islamic republic
Iran Launches Fourth Satellite Into Orbit as US Claims Its Carrier Rocket Can Be Used With Nukes - Sputnik International
Iranian flag fluttering in front of Iran's Safir Omid rocket, which is capable of carrying a satellite into orbit, before it's launch in a space station at an undisclosed location in the Islamic republic

Tehran denies that the rocket carrier is intended for military use, indicating that the satellite's mission will be to take ground photos and collect data needed to study earthquakes and deal with other natural disasters. Iran has also long denied pursuing the goal of producing nuclear weapons, insisting that their use goes against Islam. The Islamic Republic's authorities have also repeatedly pointed out that its nuclear sites are monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

This image taken from the Twitter account of President Donald J. Trump, @realDonaldTrump, shows an undated photo of the aftermath of an explosion at Iran's Imam Khomeini Space Center in the country's Semnan province - Sputnik International
Image of Iran's Rocket Failure Tweeted by Trump Claimed to be Taken by US Top-Secretive Spy Satellite

The US and Israel, however, have refused to retract their accusations. Instead, in 2018 the Trump Administration withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, which had limited the country's nuclear programme's development, and imposed sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The imposition of sanctions has led Tehran to stop adhering to the deal's provisions, almost two years after Trump first called the accord's existence into question.

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