Iran launches 3 satellites into space that are part of a Western-criticized program as tensions rise

Iran successfully launches three satellites into space, using the Simorgh rocket that previously had multiple failures.

Iran said it successfully launched three satellites into space on January 28, the latest for a programme that the West says improves Tehran's ballistic missiles.

The state-run IRNA news agency said the launch also saw the successful use of Iran's Simorgh rocket, which has had multiple failures in the past.

Footage released by Iranian state television showed a night time launch for the Simorgh rocket. An Associated Press analysis of the footage's details showed that it took place at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s rural Semnan province.

State TV named the launched satellites Mahda, Kayhan-2 and Hatef-1. It described the Mahda as a research satellite, while the Kayhan and the Hatef were nanosatellites focused on global positioning and communication respectively.

There have been five failed launches in a row for the Simorgh program, another satellite-carrying rocket.

The United States has previously said Iran’s satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. U.N. sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile programme expired last October.