Iran answers Donald Trump’s Twitter taunt about rocket failure with satellite selfie
- The US president posted on Twitter a photo of what appeared to be the site of a failed Iranian satellite launch
Iran on Saturday displayed for reporters what it said was an intact satellite ready for orbit, hitting back against US President Donald Trump’s comments suggesting a “catastrophic accident” had delayed its launch.
Officials presented the satellite, Nahid-1, at a space research centre in Tehran, where it is awaiting the preparation of a rocket launcher, Iranian media reported. Iran has successfully sent several satellites into orbit in recent years.
“The latest tests … have been carried out, and the satellite will be delivered as soon as the launcher is ready,” Iran’s Information and Communications Technology Minister, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, told Iran’s state broadcaster.
Earlier on Saturday, the minister posted a photo of himself next to the satellite on Twitter.
“Me & Nahid I right now, Good Morning Donald Trump!” he wrote.
On Friday, Trump had posted on Twitter a detailed aerial image of an Iranian launch pad that showed extensive damage, the apparent result of a failed rocket launch earlier in the week.
“The United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident during final launch preparations” at the space site in Iran’s Semnan province, Trump said.