"Thanks to the efforts of specialists of the IRGC Aerospace Force, a few minutes ago, the Noor-III satellite with Iranian carrier rocket Qased was successfully launched into orbit 450 kilometers above the Earth's surface. I congratulate all employees of the country's space industry and employees of the IRGC space agency on this success," Zarepour was quoted as saying by an Iranian news agency.
Later in the day, IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh announced that Iran planned to launch two more satellites into orbit by late March.
"In the not too distant future, we will have a constellation of satellites in orbit... We hope to have two more launches before the end of the year [March 20, 2024]," the commander was quoted as saying by the media.
Tehran launched its first homegrown military satellite Noor-I in April 2020, followed by the second one, Noor-II, in March 2022.