In this frame grab from Iranian state TV, a video, a rocket carrying a Payam satellite is launched at Imam Khomeini Space Center, a facility under the control of the country’s Defense Ministry, in Semnan province, Iran, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. According to Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the rocket failed to reach the “necessary speed” in the third stage of its launch. (IRINN, via AP)
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – An Iranian satellite-carrying rocket blasted off into space Tuesday, but scientists failed to put the device into orbit in a launch criticized by the United States as helping the Islamic Republic further develop its ballistic missile program.
After the launch, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repeated his allegation that Iran’s space program could help it develop a missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon to the mainland U.S., criticism that comes amid the Trump administration’s maximalist approach against Tehran after withdrawing from the nuclear deal.
Iran, which long has said it does not seek nuclear weapons, maintains its satellite launches and rocket tests do not have a military component. Tehran also says they don’t violate a United Nations resolution that only “called upon” it not to conduct such tests.
In his statement, Pompeo said the vehicle that Iran tried to put into orbit uses technology that is “virtually identical and interchangeable with those used in ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles.” He said the U.S. is working with its partners “to counter the entire range of the Islamic Republic’s threats, including its missile program, which threatens Europe and the Middle East.”
The rocket carrying the Payam satellite failed to reach the “necessary speed” in the third stage of its launch, Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said.