{"id":206245,"date":"2020-04-25T07:06:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-25T07:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=206245"},"modified":"2020-04-28T07:56:04","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T07:56:04","slug":"irgcs-noor-1-satellite-a-new-chapter-in-irans-defense-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=206245","title":{"rendered":"IRGC\u2019s Noor-1 satellite: A new chapter in Iran\u2019s defense power"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction \u2013 April 24, 2020<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Picture provided by IRNA on April 22, 2020 shows part of the Qased satellite carrier used by Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) to launch Nour (Light)-1, Iran\u2019s first military satellite, into the Earth\u2019s orbit.<\/p><\/div>\n

Iran\u2019s launch of a military satellite last Wednesday wasn\u2019t just the first military satellite Tehran put into orbit. Just as significant was the fact that the Qased (Courier) rocket was the first three-stage vehicle the Islamic Republic has successfully launched.<\/h5>\n
That means that having mastered the technology involved three stage launch vehicles, Iran will now be able to use the technological know-how in the development of its ballistic missiles.<\/h5>\n
In other words, Iran could soon develop longer-range missiles. At present Iran\u2019s longest-range missile are two-stage medium-range missiles of between 2,000kms to 2,500kms. However, that could change now and within the next few years we could see Iran develop long-range ballistic missiles, maybe even an intercontinental ballistic missile. Ed.<\/h5>\n

IRGC\u2019s Noor-1 satellite: A new chapter in Iran\u2019s defense power<\/h1>\n

Press TV \u2013 April 24, 2020<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

The IRGC’s locally developed Qased (Courier) launch vehicle carrying the first Iranian military satellite into orbit. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n

Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully placed the Islamic Republic\u2019s first ever\u00a0military satellite in its designated orbit on Wednesday, using a rocket which is also the country\u2019s first\u00a0three-stage launch vehicle to successfully deliver its load.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Noor-1, although Iran\u2019s fifth homegrown satellite to successfully reach outer space, marks a new\u00a0chapter in the country\u2019s space program, which relies heavily on technologies that are designed and\u00a0developed at home.<\/span><\/p>\n

While little data has been made available about the Noor-1 and its features, its classification as a multi-purpose satellite with special uses in the defense sector suggests that the IRGC has reached such\u00a0technological maturity that it can now confidently plan and carry out intelligence warfare and military\u00a0reconnaissance missions from space while gathering data that helps keep the Iranian skies safe.<\/span><\/p>\n

IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami wrote after the launch: \u201cToday we watch the earth\u00a0from the sky and this is proof that a global power is in the making.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The satellite\u2019s functions aside, the launch presents a far greater achievement for Iran\u2019s defense industry\u00a0by putting space, which is quickly becoming a new domain for military dominance, within reach.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Qased (Courier) rocket, which carried the Noor-1 to its destination with a sophisticated three-stage\u00a0design, also cleared one of the technological challenges that had hampered Iran\u2019s recent attempts at\u00a0reaching higher altitudes in the Low Earth Orbit.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to experts, the ability to develop a solid-fuel engine that safely drives the third stage of the\u00a0rocket to its desired altitude is testament to the great strides Iranian engineers have made under the\u00a0harshest Western sanctions to date.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Arabic website Ray al-Youm described the launch as evidence that Iran has defeated US sanctions in\u00a0practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

It also showed that despite designating the IRGC as a terrorist group and assassinating Quds Force\u00a0Commander General Qassem Soleimani, the US has failed to stop the IRGC\u2019s rapid progress, the website\u00a0added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The significance of the launch became clearer when the chief commander of the Iranian Army, Major\u00a0General Abdolrahim Mousavi, and Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of the Armed\u00a0Forces, both hailed it as a historic milestone in expanding the country\u2019s defense prowess.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other top Iranian officials, including Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei,\u00a0have also congratulated and thanked the IRGC for its latest leap forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the successful launch, while widely expected and encouraged at home, took by surprise\u00a0American and Israeli leaders who did not see it coming amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit\u00a0Iran hard.<\/span><\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump, in a rather rushed statement, said the US was tracking the launch and\u00a0claimed \u201cwe know more about them than the Iranians themselves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the launch violated the United Nations Security Council\u00a0Resolution 2231, which endorses the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Ironically enough, the Trump administration illegally abandoned the multi-lateral agreement in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pompeo also echoed calls by Israeli leaders to hold Iran accountable for the launch, which they claimed\u00a0was used as cover to expand Iran\u2019s ballistic missile program.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is even hearsay that the US is preparing to send the case to the Security Council for further action.<\/span><\/p>\n

But did the launch really breach international law?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UNSC Resolution 2231 calls on Iran to avoid \u201cany activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be\u00a0capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran has time and again made it clear that it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons or missiles\u00a0capable of delivering such warheads, the main initiative behind the nuclear deal, known as the Joint\u00a0Comprehensive Plan of Action, with the P5+1 nations\u2014the US, the UK, France, China, Russia and\u00a0Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n

The resolution asks Iran to not undertake such test for a period of eight years, provided that other\u00a0parties to the deal meet their commitments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran has already cut back on most of its commitments under the landmark agreement following\u00a0Washington\u2019s exit and Europe\u2019s failure to deliver its end of the bargain to protect trade.<\/span><\/p>\n

The missile test ban, which experts say is non-binding and adhering to it is rather a gesture of good will\u00a0by Iran, is expected to be terminated in fall.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this aside, there is still no evidence to back up America\u2019s claims of Iran\u2019s race being\u00a0towards a nuclear\u00a0weapon as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the other signatories to the JCPOA admit\u00a0that Iran has fulfilled all of its promises.<\/span><\/p>\n

So when it comes to Pompeo\u2019s remarks about the violation of the UN resolution, perhaps Russian\u00a0Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has the best answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

“This would not be the first time that a nation that has flagrantly breached the norms of international\u00a0law and violated UNSC resolution 2231 is trying to deflect international condemnation by baselessly\u00a0accusing Iran of noncompliance with the requirements of the Security Council,” she said Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no, there have never been, and hopefully there will never be nuclear weapons in Iran. Iran,\u00a0adhering to the resolution, does not develop, test or use ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear\u00a0weapons, unlike the United States, which surprises the world every single day with news about plans to\u00a0develop their nuclear missile capabilities,” she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

With all this in mind, it is safe to assume that Washington will never succeed in forcing Iran to back away\u00a0from expanding its defensive power, specially considering how it is surrounded by US-allied regimes that\u00a0falsely view Iran as their main enemy and keep stockpiling weapons of all kinds in the futile quest of\u00a0stopping its growing influence.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is also the question of what exactly gives Washington the right to undermine Iran\u2019s defense power\u00a0while being in possession of the world\u2019s largest nuclear arsenal and spending billions more to upgrade\u00a0it?<\/span><\/p>\n

Given that the US is thousands of miles away from the Middle East region and has spent the past four\u00a0decades implementing hostile policies against Iran, it seems that the answer to this and many other\u00a0questions lay inside the US, where the Trump administration is under immense pressure for its\u00a0disastrous handling of the coronavirus outbreak.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iran\u2019s recent satellite launch wasn\u2019t just its first military satellite in orbit. It also marks a breakthrough in missile technology that has probably alarmed the Pentagon <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-206245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Iran"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=206245"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206249,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206245\/revisions\/206249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=206245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=206245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=206245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}