Iran launches rocket into space as nuclear talks to resume
- Iran has carried out a second space test of its Zuljanah satellite launcher
- US called launch ‘unhelpful and destabilising’ amid stalled nuclear talks
Iranian state television said on Sunday that Tehran had launched a solid-fuelled rocket into space, drawing a rebuke from Washington ahead of the expected resumption of stalled talks over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers.
It is unclear when or where the rocket was launched, but the announcement came after satellite photos showed preparations at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s rural Semnan province, the site of Iran’s frequent failed attempts to put a satellite into orbit.
State-run media broadcast dramatic footage of the blast-off against the backdrop of heightened tensions over Tehran’s nuclear programme, which is racing ahead under decreasing international oversight.
Iran had previously acknowledged that it planned more tests for the satellite-carrying rocket, which it first launched in February of last year.
Ahmad Hosseini, spokesman for Iran’s defence ministry, said Zuljanah, a 25.5 metre-long rocket capable of carrying a satellite of 220kg (485 pounds) that would gather data in low-earth orbit and promote Iran’s space industry.
Zuljanah is named for the horse of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
