Iran Launches New Satellite Into Space Using Technology Feared by West

Iran launched a satellite into space on Saturday with a rocket built by the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, state-run media reported, but the launch has drawn attention from the West due to fears that the technology used could accelerate its ballistic missile development.

According to the state-run media Tasnim News Agency, the rocket, identified as the Qaem-100, is a solid-fuel, three-stage rocket that launched the Chamran-1 satellite, weighing 132 pounds, into a 340-mile orbit. The event, which was broadcast on Iranian media, showed the rocket being launched from a mobile platform near the city of Shahroud, roughly 215 miles east of the capital Tehran, according to an Associated Press analysis of the video and other imagery.

This launch, described as a success by Iran, marks the second time the Qaem-100 rocket has carried a satellite into orbit, following a launch earlier this year.

The launch comes amid heightened tensions in the wider Middle East over Israel’s continued war on the Gaza Strip, sparking fears of a regional conflict as Iran-linked groups in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon have carried out attacks against United States and Israeli interests.

Iran has remained a steadfast backer of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, since its deadly assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which ignited the ongoing conflict in Gaza. In the months since, the war has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The fighting has also led to the widespread destruction of infrastructure and displaced nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, many of whom have been forced to flee multiple times.

According to state-run media, the launch was a joint effort by the space department of Iran Electronics Industries, the Aerospace Research Institute of Iran, and the domestic knowledge-based companies that built the satellite to “test hardware and software systems for orbital maneuver technology validation,” state media said.

However, Western governments, such as the U.S., have previously warned Iran against such launches, saying the same technology can be used for ballistic missiles, Al Jazeera reported.

While Iran claims its space program is for civilian purposes, experts cite that that the technology could shorten the timeline for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which could potentially carry nuclear weapons.

Newsweek has reached out the White House and Iran’s Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

The U.S. intelligence community and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have warned that Iran possesses enough enriched uranium to produce several nuclear weapons, should it choose to do so.

While U.S. officials have yet to respond to Saturday’s launch, they have long expressed concerns over Iran’s satellite efforts, arguing that they violate United Nations Security Council resolutions and called on Iran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

According to Al Jazeera, U.N. sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired last October.

However, Tehran has consistently denied seeking nuclear arms. This comes as Iran’s space program had previously slowed under former President Hassan Rouhani, who feared provoking the West, but it has gained momentum under the hardline leadership of President Ebrahim Raisi who died earlier this year in a helicopter crash.

While Raisi’s death has led to some uncertainty about the direction of Iran’s space ambitions, the continued launches suggest that the country remains committed to advancing its technological and military capabilities.