Iran Launches Satellite Despite Pompeo's Warning, But it Fails to Reach Orbit

Tehran has launched a domestically-produced Payam satellite, however, it failed to reach orbit, Iranian state TV has announced, citing Minister of Telecommunications Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi.

According to him, the satellite's carrier rocket successfully passed the first and second stage of the launch, but could not reach the "necessary speed" in the third stage.

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In January, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Iran would face economic and diplomatic consequences if it carried out three scheduled space launches in the coming months. For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif noted that Iran's rocket launches are not in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The Islamic Republic previously attempted to launch a Simorgh orbital carrier rocket, however, that rocket's second stage only burned for 20 seconds. In a joint statement, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France condemned the launch, claiming it violated the UN Security Council resolution, regulating the Iranian nuclear programme.