TEHRAN —
Iran’s defense ministry said Sunday
it has carried out a second test launch of a satellite carrier, ahead of the
expected restart of nuclear talks.
اضافة اعلان
“The second launch of the Zoljanah satellite carrier
has taken place in order to achieve the predetermined research objectives,”
said Ahmad Hosseini, spokesman for the ministry’s space division, cited by
state news agency IRNA.
In February last year, the ministry said it had
test-launched a new satellite carrier, the Zoljanah, but without providing
details on the result.
The carrier “has two stages of solid propulsion and
a single liquid one”, Hosseini said at the time, adding that the rocket was for
“research purposes”.
The Zoljanah can put satellites in a “500km altitude
orbit and carry a 220kg” payload, Hosseini had said.
Solid-fuel rockets can be used for mobile launchers,
while pure solid-fuel rockets are mostly linked to ballistic missiles systems.
Earlier this month, Hosseini said the ministry
planned three test launches, one of which had already been carried out.
Iran insists its space program is for civilian and
defense purposes only, and does not breach the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran
and world powers, or any other international agreement.
Western governments worry that satellite launch
systems incorporate technologies interchangeable with those used in ballistic
missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.
Iran successfully put its first military satellite
into orbit in April 2020, drawing a sharp rebuke from Washington.
In March, the
Revolutionary Guards, the ideological
arm of Iran’s military, announced it had successfully placed a military
reconnaissance satellite, Nour-2, into orbit.
In January, state media reported that the Guards had
successfully tested a solid-fuel satellite carrier rocket.
The news of the latest launch comes a day after the
EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, on a surprise trip to Tehran, said talks to
revive the 2015 nuclear deal would resume within days after being stalled for
months.
The negotiations hit a snag in March amid
differences between Tehran and Washington, notably over a demand by Iran that
its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be removed from a US terror list.
The deal reached with six major powers — Britain,
China, France, Germany, Russia, and the US — gave Iran relief from sanctions in
return for curbs on its atomic program.
Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear arsenal.
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