United States Quietly Acknowledges Iran's Satellite Orbit Launch

The United States has silently admitted that Iran successfully sent its "Noor-3" remote-controlled satellite into orbit this week, according to Associated Press reports.

U.S. military officials have not responded officially to multiple requests for comments from the agency. However, on Friday, the website space-track.org published data regarding Iran's launch of the "Noor-3" satellite on Wednesday, based on information provided by the U.S. Space Force’s 18th Squadron.

The rocket launched the satellite into an orbit at an altitude of 450 kilometers, according to Iranian state media reports on the launch. As reported by IRNA, the launch of the "Noor-3" satellite was conducted on Wednesday by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps using the domestically developed "Qased" rocket.

Earlier, Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi stated that Iran aims to become a regional hub for satellite launches and other space services over the next eight years. He noted that "the main site for international launches will be the Chabahar space base, which is currently under construction under the auspices of Iran's Space Agency."