Iran state TV says Tehran launched rocket into space
CTV
Iran on Thursday announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth.
The state TV report, as well as others by Iran's semiofficial news agencies, did not say when the launch was conducted nor what devices the carrier brought with it.
However, the launch comes amid difficult negotiations in Vienna over Iran's tattered nuclear deal.
Previous launches have drawn rebukes from the United States. The U.S. State Department, Space Force and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ahmad Hosseini, a Defence Ministry spokesman, identified the rocket as a Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket. He said the three devices were sent up 470 kilometres.
Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin launched a six-person crew - including the first U.S. Black astronaut candidate from the 1960s - from West Texas to the edge of space on Sunday, resuming its centerpiece space tourism business for the first time since its suborbital New Shepard rocket was grounded in 2022.