LONDON — Iran said Tuesday that it had launched what it described as its first domestically produced satellite as part of an effort to build a space industry.
The launch on Monday, coinciding with celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, is likely to raise concern in the United States and other nations about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its deployment of long-range ballistic missiles with potential military uses.
“Dear Iranian nation, your children have placed the first indigenous satellite into orbit,” Reuters quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying in a televised message.
“With God’s help and the desire for justice and peace, the official presence of the Islamic Republic was registered in space,” he said.
The Omid was designed to gather information and test equipment, according to Reuters, and will circle the earth 14 times a day.source: