Noor means “light” in Persian. Guard launches its first Noor satellite in 2020
Noor means “light” in Persian. Guard launches its first Noor satellite in 2020
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has launched a second reconnaissance satellite into space, state media reported on Tuesday, as world powers await Tehran’s decision in negotiating the country’s torn nuclear deal.
State television identified the launch as taking place in its northeast Shahrud desert, without specifying.
However, it came as Iran’s top diplomat flew home late on Monday for consultations after months of talks, a sign of mounting pressure on Tehran as talks near their end.
The Guard said the Nur-2 satellite reached a low orbit 500 kilometers (310 miles) above Earth’s surface aboard the Ghased satellite carrier, state-run IRNA news agency reported. It described Ghased, or “Messenger” in Persian, as a three-stage, mixed-fuel satellite carrier.
According to IRNA, Guard General Hossein Salami said, “It is a great achievement that we can again lay our eyes in the sky and see Earth from space.”
The Guard did not immediately release photos or videos of the launch. However, officials had already started receiving signals from the satellite as it orbits the Earth every 90 minutes, IRNA quoted Iranian Information and Communications Technology Minister Issa Zarepour as saying.
US officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment and a US-maintained list of space objects ignored a new Iranian launch this month.
Satellite images a few days after the launch suggested that Iran’s civilian program suffered another failed launch.
Noor means “light” in Persian. Guard launched its first Noor satellite in 2020, letting the world know it ran its space program.
The head of US Space Command later dismissed that satellite as “a tumbling webcam in space” that would not provide critical intelligence to Iran – although it successfully entered orbit after a series of setbacks by Tehran. demonstrated ability.
The US has alleged that Iran’s satellite violated a UN Security Council resolution and called on Tehran not to conduct any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
The US intelligence community’s 2022 threat assessment published on Tuesday claimed that such a satellite launch vehicle “shortened the timeline” for an intercontinental ballistic missile for Iran because it uses “similar technologies”. . Iran, which has long said it does not want a nuclear weapon, has previously said its satellite launches and rocket tests do not have a military component.
US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Iran abandoned an organized military nuclear program in 2003.
“We continue to assess that Iran is not currently conducting major nuclear weapons-development activities that we consider necessary to build a nuclear device,” the 2022 US intelligence threat assessment said.
Meanwhile, IRNA described the home visit of negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani “within the framework of general consultations during the talks”. The EU’s top negotiator, however, suggested whether the talks succeeded or failed, now rested with the Islamic Republic.
“There is no expert-level talks anymore.’ Nor formal meetings,'” Spanish diplomat Enrique Mora wrote on Twitter, responding to comments by an Iranian analyst.
“In the next few days, it is time to end #ViennaTalks for political decisions. The rest is noise.” Mr Mora’s remarks mirror those of British and French negotiators at the Vienna talks, who are working to find a way to bring the US back to the deal signed in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump. was abandoned unilaterally.
It also expects Iran to again agree to measures that significantly reduce its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
They also appear to back down against persistent Iranian avoidance in the final weeks of the talks, trying to blame any delay on the US, which has not had room for talks since Trump’s withdrawal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that he believes we are “closer” to reaching an agreement, although there are “some very challenging issues.” The latest wrinkle, however, is a demand on Saturday from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Blinken offer written guarantees on Moscow’s ability to continue trade with Iran as it faces sanctions over its war on Ukraine.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirbadollahian spoke with Mr Lavrov on the phone on Monday, according to a statement from his office, explicitly discussing the threat of sanctions.
“We are against war and sanctions, and it is clear that cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and any country, including Russia, should not be affected by an environment of sanctions,” Amirbadullahian said in the statement.
In the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran kept advanced centrifuges in storage under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, while keeping its enrichment at 3.67% purity and its reserves at only 300 kg (661 lb) of uranium.
As of February 19, the IAEA says that Iran’s reserves of all-enriched uranium were approximately 3,200 kilograms (7,055 lb). Some have been enriched to 60% purity – a small technical step up from weapons-grade levels of 90%.