Iran's Foreign Ministry has stated that its recent launch of the “Noor” (“Light” in Farsi) military satellite doesn't violate any international resolutions. The ministry's spokesman stressed that in this light, the US attempts to appeal to UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to condemn the Iranian actions are not adequate.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Iran should "be held accountable for what it's done", claiming that the launch violated Resolution 2231. Russia disagreed with Washington's view, arguing that the US itself has "flagrantly breached" the norms of international law and violated the resolution and is now simply trying to divert attention.
One of the provisions of the Security Council Resolution 2231 calls on Iran to abstain from testing and launching any type of ballistic missiles, including those used in space programmes, but does not ultimately prohibit them or threaten with any sanctions for ignoring it.
More Launches to Come
In a separate statement, the spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Air Force announced that Tehran is planning to launch another military satellite into orbit. The spokesman said it will be called "Noor-2", but made no mention of its capabilities or functions. Little is also known about the purpose of "Noor-1", apart from the fact that it will be used by the Iranian military.
Tehran announced on 23 April that the satellite had successfully reached orbit, although the American military was at first hesitant to confirm Tehran's success. The launch was preceded by a series of failures to send civilian satellites into low Earth orbit.
Despite being civilian in nature, these launches were also condemned by the US, which suspects Iran of developing ballistic missiles for military purposes via its space programme. Washington also claims that the Islamic Republic is developing nuclear weapons in order for them to later be installed on the ballistic missiles. Tehran itself has ruled out the creation of both nuclear arms and long-range missiles.
